Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua is officially ON for Q4 of 2026 but AJ has one final hurdle to negotiate when he returns to the ring on July 25 vs Albanian journeyman Kristian Prenga.
Joshua, now 36 years old, has not been out since demolishing YouTuber Jake Paul in their much-hyped crossover match in Miami last December. Days after that the British two-time world heavyweight champion escaped a horrific car crash which killed two of his closest friends and team members.
Now Joshua has the biggest carrot of all as he returns to face the 35-year-old Prenga (20-1 with all 20 wins inside the distance) in a Riyadh Season show in the Saudi capital on Saturday July 25 (live on DAZN).
It’s a pretty smart move by Eddie Hearn, Turki Alalshikh and co – thankfully all talk of that long-awaited showdown with big-punching American Deontay Wilder has been shelved at least for the time being. This is no time to fumble the biggest bag of all with Fury and Joshua expected to each earn north of £100million for their meeting later in the year.
Joshua signs multi-fight deal
The showdown Prenga is the first bout of a multi-fight deal for Joshua (29-4), and he will start a red-hot favourite. One look at Prenga’s record reveals very little of any quality on the Albanian’s list of victims to date.
Joshua said: “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.I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25th 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 talks the talk
Prenga meanwhile is predictably talking a good fight – the odds suggest it will not be like that on July 25 in Saudi. He 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.”
