Anthony Joshua makes his return to the ring in Jeddah on Saturday night when he takes on the unknown Albanian challenger Kristian Prenga.
Joshua last fought in December 2025 when he shattered social media star Jake Paul's jaw in an ill-judged gimmick bout. His last legitimate heavyweight outing was a one-sided fifth-round defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
However, since beating Paul last year, Joshua survived a horrific car crash in Nigeria which claimed the lives of two of his closest friends and team members.
After a few months away, he resumed training alongside former opponent Oleksandr Usyk, and now returns to the ring to face Prenga in a bout dubbed “The Comeback”.
Why is Joshua fighting Prenga?
Given all that he has been through, Joshua needs a soft touch to get him back up and running. Prenga has a padded record of 20-1 with 20 knockouts but is ranked down at 35 in the world by BoxRec.
The Albanian will likely be good enough to give Joshua a few rounds in Saudi Arabia but ultimately should crumble when the London 2012 gold medallist decides to turn up the temperature.
Joshua is 36 now and has a 29-4 record. He is not the fighter he once was but this is a calculated relaunch of his career with a much bigger fight on the horizon.
Will Joshua v Fury be next?
Even with all the progress that has been made in recent months, nothing would surprise you with this on-off British super-fight.
Both Joshua and Fury have reportedly signed contracts to fight later this year, but there has been further difficulty in securing a venue. The fight is being put together by Saudi boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh, and while there is an acceptance the fight should take place in the UK, organisers ran into trouble over the start time. Local authorities in London place a strict curfew of 11pm on events at Wembley Stadium, while Alalshikh wanted it to go off at 2am UK time to attract a peak US TV audience.
The Principality Stadium in Wales has now emerged as a strong alternative and is an attractive option given the fight would take place in winter and the venue has a retractable roof.
Is Fury fighting this weekend?
Yes, Fury has a fight himself on Friday night in Thailand. The Gypsy King made his ring return in April with an easy win over Arslanbek Makhmudov but is taking the opportunity to have another warm-up bout against polish veteran Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Bangkok. Fury has denied speculation he will fly to Jeddah after his fight to face off with Joshua and help promote a potential showdown in November 2026.
When is Joshua v Prenga?
Joshua v Prenga takes place on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
Who is on the undercard?
Hamzah Sheeraz v Simon Zachenhuber – WBO super-middleweight title
Josh Kelly v Caoimhin Agyarko – IBF light-middleweight world title
Reito Tsutsumi v Alvino Herrera – super-featherweight
Jacob Bank v Pawel August – super-middleweight
Nishant Dev v Cesar Diaz – light-middleweight
Where is the fight taking place?
The bout will headline a show at the 40,000-capacity Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia.
How to watch Joshua v Prenga in the UAE
Joshua v Prenga is being streamed live worldwide on Dazn.
What time does it start?
The main card starts at 9pm UAE time (8pm KSA and 6pm UK), while the main event is scheduled for 2am UAE (1am KSA and 11pm UK).
