Anthony Joshua will fight Kristian Prenga this summer, it has been announced, as “AJ” builds to a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury.
Joshua will box Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 25 July, it was confirmed on Monday.
A press release from Matchroom made no reference to Fury, but the promotion’s chief Eddie Hearn told The Independent and others this month that “AJ” would likely face another foe before taking on Fury. Hearn also hinted that such a warm-up bout would take place this summer.
And the opponent in question will be relative unknown Prenga, a 35-year-old Albanian with a professional record of 20-1 (20 KOs). Meanwhile, Joshua’s own record stands at 29-4 (26 KOs).
Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, last fought in December, stopping YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in six rounds in Miami. Ten days later, Joshua survived a fatal car crash in Nigeria, which killed two of his teammates – Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
Since then, Joshua has been training with former opponent Oleksandr Usyk in the latter’s native Ukraine. Usyk outpointed Joshua in 2021 and 2022, before doing the same against Fury twice in 2024.
Joshua, 36, and Fury, 37, have been linked for years, and they even signed a fight deal in 2021, when each Briton was a world heavyweight champion. However, the contest collapsed when Fury’s rival Deontay Wilder threatened legal action, leading to a trilogy bout with the “Gypsy King”. Fury went on to stop Wilder for the second time.
But the Joshua contest has long eluded fight fans – until now, it seems. It is likely that Joshua vs Prenga is part of a contract that will see AJ box Fury later in 2026.
That would tally with what Hearn told The Independent, and it was hinted at by Saudi Matchmaker Turki Alalshikh just moments before Joshua vs Prenga was announced. “To my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed,” wrote Alalshikh on X.
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The latest round of Fury vs Joshua chatter began on 11 April, when Fury outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Joshua watched on from ringside.
Fury, who was returning from his fifth career retirement, called out AJ after winning, but the latter refused to enter the wing and was coy when speaking on the microphone. Joshua suggested he would soon box his fellow Briton but that he would not entertain a face-off until that fight was signed.
More follows…
