Anthony Joshua v Kristian Prenga: heavyweight boxing - live
Anthony Joshua is set to face Kristian Prenga in a heavyweight boxing match in Jeddah. The fight serves as a tune-up for Joshua before a highly anticipated future bout against Tyson Fury.
Why it matters
This match marks Joshua's return to the ring following a period of personal tragedy and professional inconsistency, testing his readiness for elite-level competition.
Anthony Joshua’s first fight of 2026 – a planned tune-up before a showdown with Tyson Fury – comes against exactly the type of opponent you’d expect. Kristian Prenga is a strapping 6ft 5in Albanian with an eye-catching 20-1 (all 20 wins by KO) record that contains a sum total of zero elite opponents.
But hold on, Prenga ultras might ask: when exactly did Britain’s former two-time world champion last see off a real heavyweight threat himself? Joshua’s last three fights are a sixth-round stoppage of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul , a brutal KO loss to Daniel Dubois and a two-round demolition of mixed-martial artist Francis Ngannou. You have to go back to December 2023 to find the last time AJ defeated a proven heavyweight contender in the shape of Otto Wallin.
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