After chaotic return, where does Joshua win leave Fury fight?

After just 20 seconds, the biggest fight in British boxing had seemingly gone up in smoke in Jeddah's desert air.

Anthony Joshua was flat on his back and a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury was hanging in the balance.

One more knockdown, one astonishing comeback and a second-round knockout later, the blockbuster bout was revived.

But after one of the wildest nights of Joshua's career against Kristian Prenga, the Fury fight suddenly feels like a very different contest.

"That was chaos. Absolute chaos. Just madness," former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew said on DAZN.

The emotion of Joshua's comeback victory cannot be overstated. Given everything he has endured since the tragic car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele, simply stepping back into the ring was an achievement.

Sentiment aside, though, had Albanian Prenga pressed home his advantage after dropping Joshua twice in the opening round, the story could have been very different.

Prenga arrived with an impressive record - 20 knockouts from 20 victories and one defeat - but had never operated anywhere near this level or under this kind of spotlight.

"I think we need to look at that first round and look at how easily AJ was hurt. We can't just skip past that," 5 Live boxing pundit Steve Bunce said.

"We saw a man in a very bad place come through an even worse situation and emerge victorious at the end. That will be the story.

"However, once we step back, we need to keep looking at that first round and start asking: how much further do we want to push him?"

This was supposed to be Joshua's comeback week. Instead, Fury reminded everyone that he remains the master of stealing a headline.

Fury was originally expected to fight on 1 August in Dublin, but moved quickly to schedule his own bout against a 46-year-old Mariusz Wach for the evening before Joshua's fight night.

Then in fight week came the usual Fury theatre. He insisted he would not be in Jeddah, before hinting the opposite. An Instagram post tagged with the location "Who Knows" only added fuel to the speculation.

In the end, Fury stayed away and perhaps that was a blessing for Joshua. Had Fury been sitting ringside watching his rival get dropped twice in the opening round, would Joshua have found the same reserves of determination to turn the fight around? Would the pressure of knowing Fury was watching have changed the moment?

We will never know. But what we do know is that while the two men made it through their respective warm-ups, questions remain after both performances.

Fury's seventh-round victory over Wach was heavily criticised by some but it was effectively a public sparring session designed to keep Fury active and keep his name in the conversation.

There was little jeopardy involved and Fury appeared to be enjoying himself, even sharing a playful moment by kissing his opponent on the head.

Perhaps we should read more into his performance against Arslanbek Makhmudov in April where Fury - while still showing signs of decline - looked comfortable and controlled.

Fury's greatest weapon has always been his ability to expose hesitation, vulnerability and mistakes - and Joshua showed all three against Prenga.

In the aftermath of such a chaotic night, it is easy to focus only on the flaws and forget the bigger picture. Joshua was returning from one of the darkest periods of his life and carrying an immense emotional burden into the ring.

After his hand was raised, he struggled to get through his interview. His voice cracked as he spoke about his two friends and the impact their loss has had on him.

"Boxing once saved him and he needed boxing to get through this. That camp allowed him to focus his mind while he was in so much grief and pain," promoter Eddie Hearn said.

"You don't know what he was going through in that camp because he doesn't talk about it."

Whatever happens next, his place in British boxing history is already secure. He is an Olympic gold medallist, a two-time heavyweight champion and one of the biggest sporting stars this country has produced.

He has taken boxing to places few British fighters ever have. He has filled stadiums, headlined global events and become a household name far beyond the sport.

But in the build-up to his comeback, Joshua and his stablemate Oleksandr Usyk spoke about the ambition of becoming undisputed heavyweight champion.

After Saturday night in Saudi, the reality is that even reclaiming a world title would be a tough ask.

Joshua has always spoken about legacy, and there would be something fitting about walking away after overcoming one of the toughest periods of his life and producing a dramatic comeback victory.

The danger with ageing fighters is chasing one more night. Boxing history is filled with champions who stayed that one fight too long.

But then again Fury-Joshua is not one more fight. It is the fight. The one that has loomed over their careers for the best part of a decade.