In a surprising turn of events, Anthony Joshua is set to face off against the relatively unknown Kristian Prenga on July 25 before his much-anticipated showdown with longtime rival Tyson Fury.
The former two-time heavyweight champion has been absent from the ring since his dominant victory over Jake Paul in December. His return was delayed following a tragic car accident in Nigeria shortly after his last fight, which claimed the lives of close friends Kevin Ayodele and Sina Ghami.
After taking time to recover from the harrowing incident, the 36-year-old has been spotted training with ex-rival-turned-friend Oleksandr Usyk in Valencia. Joshua recently made appearances at boxing events, supporting Derek Chisora and witnessing Tyson Fury’s victory against Arslanbek Makhmudov. Fury wasted no time in calling for a match with Joshua, who initially declined the challenge.
However, Joshua has now agreed to face Fury in November, pending a victory over Prenga in Riyhad, Saudi Arabia this summer. He expressed his excitement about returning to the ring, stating, “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.” He added, “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.”
Prenga, an Albanian heavyweight with an impressive record of 20 knockout victories and only one defeat, is confident in his abilities. He remarked, “Anthony Joshua is a great fighter, but he made a terrible miscalculation in picking me as his opponent.” Prenga sees this fight as a pivotal moment in his career and aims to surprise the world with a victory in Saudi Arabia this July.