Anthony Joshua faces Kristian Prenga this weekend in what is likely to serve as a precursor for the proposed blockbuster showdown with Tyson Fury.
Joshua last fought in December 2025, knocking out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in the sixth round in Miami. Since then, Joshua has endured trauma outside the ring, suffering serious injuries in a car accident that killed two of his closest friends and members of his team, Sina Ghami and Latif Adoyele, in Nigeria.
The 36-year-old admits the tragic incident still has not sunk in. "It's tough, every time I think about it, it hurts," he told BBC Sport. "Even talking about it now... pictures… it hurts but I keep my mind occupied you know. If I stop, you let it sink in and I'm not ready for it to sink in yet."
Joshua vs Fury dream
Without looking beyond Prenga, Joshua has admitted his dream is to have his hand raised in Jeddah before setting up a future match with Fury, the most long-awaited and lucrative clash in British boxing history.
A deal for Fury vs Joshua to take place later in 2026 is still yet to be signed and sealed, with Fury coming out of retirement to face Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday evening. Joshua will take to the ring on Saturday knowing the outcome of Fury's bout, for what will be his first competitive fight since suffering a knockout loss to IBF world champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024.
Prenga himself is making an enormous jump in competition to face Joshua and is coming off a first-round stoppage win over Joe Jones in February. The New Jersey-based Albanian heavyweight will provide a stern test for Joshua, having lost just once in his professional boxing career, though his lack of experience in ten-round fights could prove decisive.
Fight date and venue
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga takes place on Saturday, July 25, 2026, at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The show begins at 6pm BST UK time, which is 8pm local time. Joshua and Prenga are expected to make their respective ring walks at approximately 10.52pm BST, with the main event to start shortly afterwards.
How to watch
In the UK, the event can be watched and streamed live on DAZN. A standard one-off subscription costs £19.99.
Fight card
- Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga
- Hamzah Sheeraz (c) vs. Simon Zachenhuber - WBO super-middleweight title
- Josh Kelly (c) vs. Caoimhin Agyarko - IBF light-middleweight world title
- Reito Tsutsumi vs. Alvino Herrera
- Jacob Bank vs. Pawel August
- Nishant Dev vs. Cesar Diaz
Prediction
Joshua was never in any real danger during his fight with Jake Paul six months ago. He barely broke a sweat before eventually knocking out the YouTuber-turned-boxer with a devastating right-hand punch. However, Joshua did look rusty, particularly in the early rounds, and a repeat is on the cards especially when factoring in the length of time since his last competitive fight. That said, he should make relatively light work of the lesser-known Prenga and send an equally emphatic response to Fury, who should have no issue overcoming Wach 24 hours prior. While Prenga boasts an impressive professional record to date, this is a huge step up in class, and we expect him to succumb to Joshua's power in a likely stoppage. Joshua to win by knockout.
Odds
- Joshua to win: 1/33
- Prenga to win: 13/1
- Draw: 66/1
- Joshua to win on points/by decision: 7/1
- Joshua to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 1/8
- Prenga to win on points/by decision: 45/1
- Prenga to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification: 14/1
Odds via UK betting sites (subject to change).
