Anthony Joshua is set for his big return to boxing when he takes on Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25 in what is expected to be a warm-up bout for a long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury.
The two-time former heavyweight champion has not fought in a meaningful bout since losing to Daniel Dubois in 2024 when he was counted out in the fifth round.
Albanian heavyweight Prenga – who holds a perfect record of 20 wins and 20 knockouts, with just one defeat on his professional record – has yet to face an opponent of Joshua's class.
It will be Joshua's first appearance in the ring since he survived a fatal car crash in Nigeria in December that killed two members of his team, and close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele. Earlier that month, Joshua had beaten YouTube star Jake Paul via a brutal knockout in Miami.
“It's no secret I've taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring and today is the next step on that journey,” said Joshua (29-4). “I'm delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“I'm looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off. As I said: The landlord will collect his rent. That is certain.”
Shortly before Prenga was announced as Joshua's opponent, Saudi Arabia's boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh suggested on social media that his fight with Fury had been agreed.
“To my friends in Great Britain – it's happening. It's signed,” said Alalshikh, with Ring Magazine reporting that the British rivals would collide in the fourth quarter of the year.
US-based Prenga, 35, who turned professional in 2016, said: “Anthony Joshua is a great fighter, but he made a terrible miscalculation in picking me as his opponent.
“This is the kind of fight that changes everything in my life and his. I know they have big plans ahead after this fight.
I know they are overlooking me. I’m happy about that. I will derail their plans and shock the world this July in Saudi Arabia.”
Joshua attended Fury's latest comeback that saw him ease to a comfortable points decision win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and saw him immediately call out his British rival after the fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I challenge you, Anthony Joshua, to fight me next. Do you accept?” Fury said as he tried unsuccessfully to get his countryman into the ring.
After at first looking reluctant to engage, Joshua said: “I punched you up when we were kids and I'll punch you up again.
“You aren't going to tell me what to do, I've been chasing you for 10 years. I'm the boss, you work for me. I'm the landlord. You work for me.”
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports television that he wanted a “tune-up bout” in July before facing Fury potentially in November.
“July and November are the two dates that have been presented to us now and we expect to move forward,” he said. “Fury has just had his tune-up fight with 12 really vital rounds to get him sharp for the next one and I expect us to do the same.”
Both fighters might be past their best but it is certainly a Battle of Britain that fans have been desperate to see, albeit one that looks set to be staged years too late.
“I’m not here for clout, I’m here to fight, Contracts will be sent over, but you’ll probably see us in the ring next, more than likely,” Joshua added.
“He’s the one that retired. I’ve stayed in the ring, it’s on him. He disappears, comes back, disappears. I’m not here to chase fame, I’m a real person.
“I’ll fight him or the next person. I’m in the big fights, I make the big fights, that’s what I told him.”
