Matchroom CEO responds after ‘wild’ Simon Jordan accusation after Anthony Joshua’s win over Kristian Prenga

Wait 5 sec.

Simon Jordan, the host of talkBOXING, has said he’s ‘not having’ Anthony Joshua’s victory over Kristian Prenga.Joshua survived two early knockdowns to knock out Prenga on Saturday night, setting up an all-British blockbuster with Tyson Fury, which is expected to take place this year.talkSPORT’s Jordan said Joshua’s fight had a ‘something not quite right’ feelGettyThe Albanian heavyweight dropped Joshua in the opening 20 seconds with a thunderous right uppercut before sending him to the canvas once again moments later with another strong right hand.Joshua, however, came off his stool for the second round with serious intent, boxing behind his jab to work his way back into the fight.Minutes later, momentum had completely switched, as the two-time heavyweight champion backed Prenga up against the ropes before unloading a combination of lethal hooks to send his opponent flying under the bottom rope.Joshua, who was fighting for the first time since his involvement in a tragic car crash that killed best friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, was full of praise for Prenga when he caught up with talkSPORT in the ring.Writing on social media minutes after AJ’s victory, talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan then weighed in with his thoughts on the clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.“Not having that Anthony Joshua fight,” the co-host of White & Jordan wrote on X.“Dropped twice and sets the tempo, how’s that? Prenga totally different in second [round].“Something not quite right, all designed to rinse maximum amount of money…”‘A wild accusation’Speaking to The Stomping Ground, Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith addressed Jordan’s comments.“Simon does talk some waffle, doesn’t he?” Smith said.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/anthonyjoshua?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwJoshua’s comeback KO leaves more questions than answers according to talkSPORT’s Fight Night Daily podcast panelGetty“There’s no difference here. It is quite a wild accusation if he’s suggesting [the fight was fixed]. It’s hard to read it any differently.“But reading all the comments, everyone seems to say the same thing. Shut up, Simon. What a wally.“I’m sure he’ll explain himself in his radio show. It’s Simon Jordan. He’s the king of being divisive. Gets the people going.“I don’t read much into it, personally. I’m not saying I agree with the statement, but like what a wild thing to say.“You think it was all part of the plan? Got dropped, got back up, then dropped. Okay. Thanks, Simon. Crazy man.”Speaking via talkSPORT’s Fight Night Daily Podcast, Adam Catterall, John Rawling, Paul Smith and Spencer Oliver all shared their reactions to the fight and Jordan’s comments.Oliver said Joshua’s punch resistance on Saturday night was ‘shocking’GettyThe panel all largely believed that Joshua got back into the ring far too soon.More questions than answers“Listen, you read into it what you will,” Oliver, who said Jordan had texted him as the fight concluded, explained.“All we saw was Anthony Joshua getting the victory in that second round.”Oliver added: “The punch resistance of Anthony Joshua tonight was actually shocking.“The second knockdown was on the end of the right hand, he went again and the powers of recovery just weren’t there.“He was all over the place. Honestly, I had my hand on my heart thinking, ‘It’s all over. It’s done.’Joshua will now look ahead to potentially fighting Fury having told talkSPORT that was nextAFP“Thankfully, he got through the round, he got through the fight and got the victory. The knockout was a great knockout…“This will be the beginning of his healing process.”Smith agreed with Oliver that Joshua got into the ring too soon — just seven months removed from the car crash in Nigeria.“Make no bones about it, he shouldn’t have been in there tonight,” the British former boxer said.“I’m not jumping in two feet at the people that have allowed it or made it happen.“In their defence, the only way you’re going to find that out is by going on there.“And I think tonight’s just proved that was too soon.”Watch Boxing on DAZN*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenueSign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.Click here to sign up.