Former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua will return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in July before an all-British showdown with Tyson Fury.
The former unified heavyweight boxing champions have signed a “multi-fight deal,” which includes a scrap with Albanian heavyweight Prenga, 35, in Saudi Arabia this summer.
The fight billed ‘The Comeback’ will be shown live on DAZN, Turki Alalshikh has confirmed.
Ring Magazine has reported that the Fury fight is also a ‘done deal‘ and will take place on Netflix in the final three months of 2026.
Fans have been clamoring for a mega-money bout between AJ and the Gypsy King for years.
Fury ground out a unanimous-decision victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov after coming out of retirement for a FIFTH time earlier this month.
Joshua, 36, has been out of the ring since knocking out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December.
He suffered personal tragedy shortly afterwards, surviving a car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends.
But AJ is firmly on the comeback trail and must now get past a relatively unknown quantity in Prenga, who stands 6ft 5in and has a 20-1 professional record.
Joshua said, “It is 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 to 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.”
Joshua has lost four of his 32 fights and has not beaten a fully fledged professional boxer since defeating Otto Wallin in 2023—his two wins since coming against Paul and Francis Ngannou, with Daniel Dubois knocking him out in 2024.
Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk (twice) have also had the better of the Watford fighter.
Joshua will go in as the heavy favorite against Prenga, who has never fought a household name.
But he may be wary of his 100 per cent knockout rate, with all 20 of his victories coming inside the distance.
Prenga began his pro boxing career in Germany before fighting in the Netherlands, Canada, and Colombia.
He began fighting in the US in 2022, ticking off names like Christopher Arnold, Joey Dawejko, and Juan Torres.
Prenga 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 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 sat ringside to watch Fury beat Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the pair shared a tense exchange.
Fury called Joshua “evasive” for refusing his invite into the ring, while AJ replied, “Tonight is your night; it’s your stage. We will sit across that ring in due time.”
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
