Despite Post-Fight Claims, Kristian Prenga Is a Promotional Free Agent

Word has been spreading that Brit dealmaker Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom had signed Albanian hitter Kristian Prenga to a deal following his severe scare of Anthony Joshua on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Prenga (20-2), at 6’5” and 261 pounds, took it to the favored Joshua, dropping him twice in a crazed first round. The momentum halted, however, and Joshua (30-4) locked in to start the second.

All watchers on DAZN had to be impressed with Prenga’s opening salvos, and Joshua made sure to laud the New Jersey-based fighter, who is managed by NYC attorney Keith Sullivan, in post-fight interviews.

So, when I saw a report that Matchroom rewarded Prenga’s effort with a deal, undisclosed length or terms, I was not too surprised.

(Editor’s Note: At the 2:09 mark in the video below, Joshua said “I think Eddie wants to sign him now,” then seconds later Joshua added, “Eddie has already signed him, he [Hearn] said.”)

Undisclosed, says attorney Sullivan, back in the US after a fight week in Saudi Arabia, because there is no Matchroom deal.

The attorney/advisor said no post-loss extension of terms of service with Matchroom was signed. Sullivan on Monday speculated: “Or Eddie mistakenly thinks he has options that don’t exist? The only options I gave him were if Prenga won for a rematch. He lost, so he remains a promotional free agent.”

Note: I emailed Hearn for his thoughts and clarification.

Next, I asked Sullivan his overall take of fight night. “I’m extremely proud of Kristian,” the Brooklyn-born attorney said. “I’ve been saying from the day we signed the contract that he was going to ‘shock the world.’  That’s been my rallying cry all camp. He did shock the world even though he didn’t get the result we wanted.

“Unfortunately, he made a tactical error coming into round two. Having knocked AJ down three times, he felt he had AJ’s number and could take him out when the opportunity came. I say three times because the right hand that threw AJ against the ropes should have been counted as a knockdown.  Prenga made a decision to conserve energy at the start of round two, figuring he would pick his spot for an offensive onslaught to unleash a barrage again and end it. That tiny sliver of taking the foot off the gas created the opportunity that the skilled and experienced AJ needed.   He jumped on it, and KP was no longer in control of the fight and was having difficulty regaining control of it.”

Kristian Prenga Was Ill Weeks Before

So, did he feel a need to conserve energy in the beginning of round two?

Sullivan answered: “We didn’t want to discuss this or reveal this, but KP was extremely sick the past three weeks and was unable to train or spar for a 14-day span. That caused him to have a lack of stamina and energy after his first-round onslaught. That’s why he thought he would preserve himself a little bit during round two.  We don’t use that as an excuse and the only reason we mentioned it is because of the silly conspiracy theories that started circulating.”

“We make no excuses,” Sullivan said in summary. “We give AJ tremendous credit for getting up twice and coming out as strong and dominant as he did in round two after knowing his career was on the line, and his world was rocked in round one!”

Michael Woods

Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson. The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999. Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.

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