An emotional Anthony Joshua remembered his late friends as he staved off a seismic shock against Kristian Prenga to rubberstamp a fight with Tyson Fury that he says will be a "lovely treat" for fans.
Joshua knocked out Albanian heavyweight Prenga in the second round in Jeddah on Saturday night, after twice being floored himself in the first, including just 20 seconds into the contest.
The British star displayed tremendous character to battle back from the brink of defeat, a trait he has had to show in abundance since the deaths of team members Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele in a car crash in December in which he was a passenger.
Speaking after overcoming Prenga, Joshua told DAZN: "It's more than punch power. That was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts to even talk about it.
"It has been tough. It's my brothers. I don't want to talk about it."
Joshua was able to discuss Fury, with the British boxers now set to end over a decade of circling each other by locking horns in November, with America seemingly the most likely destination.
Fury beat Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in his own tune-up fight in Thailand on Friday.
AJ added of his countryman, who did not head to Saudi Arabia for a face-off with his rival: "I am going to rip his heart out. I am the meanest and most vicious champion there has ever been!
"All jokes aside, I respect everything he has done and achieved but we are here now. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.
"I've learnt I can't be stopped. I won't be stopped and I won't be denied. We're here and we're coming. Trust me."
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that contracts have been signed for the blockbuster showdown before going on to praise his fighter's "astonishing" return to the ring after the "grief and pain" he had to deal with following the car crash shortly before Christmas.
Hearn said of Joshua on DAZN: "To be honest with you, tonight is all about the strength AJ has showed to even be here tonight - and the strength in that fight.
"No one can imagine what he has been through in the last seven months. During the first round, I was thinking, 'we came back too soon'.
"I feel boxing once saved him and I feel like he needed boxing to help him get through this. That camp allowed him to focus while he was facing so much grief and pain.
"He is a strong man and he likes to deal with his problems on his own - I'm not saying that is the right way but that is his way to do it. To even be in the ring tonight was astonishing.
"When you go down a couple ​of times in the first round and you're looking like ​your career might be over, he had to go to the depths one more time to get ‌up and fight on."
Watch Edgar Berlanga vs Steven Butler and Richardson Hitchins vs Ricardo Salas, in New York, live on Your Site Action and Your Site Main Event from 10pm Sunday.
