Anthony Joshua’s long-awaited return to the ring has been announced, as he is set to take on Albanian Kristian Prenga.
Joshua marks Prenga’s biggest fight to date by some distance.
The fight will take place on July 25th, live from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Prenga has a perfect knockout record from his 20 wins, stopping every single one of them.
At 35 years old, he is a formidable test for Joshua’s comeback fight. The Albanian stands at 6ft 5in, so will be the slightly smaller man on the night.
‼️ BREAKING: Anthony Joshua will fight Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/iRxL7K0OjQ
— Pro Boxing Fans (@ProBoxingFans) April 27, 2026
Prenga turned professional in 2016 against Pavel Siska and made a statement he would continue to emulate many times, stopping his man in the second round.
He has an incredible 18 stoppages that have occurred before the start of the fifth round.
Prenga was last in action just two months ago, when he stopped Joe Jones in the first round of their fight in Atlantic City.
The sole defeat on the Albanian’s record came in just his fifth professional contest, as he was beaten on the scorecards by Giovanni Auriemma.
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Quite remarkably, Prenga had no amateur boxing background and instead started as a kickboxer.
Prenga was a two-time European kickboxing champion before transitioning well to the sport of boxing.
Residing in Edgewater, New Jersey, the Albanian will see July 25th as a career-defining opportunity. He spoke to Ring Magazine and sent a stern warning to ‘AJ.’
“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.”
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When Prenga discusses derailing plans, that is in relation to the breaking news that Anthony Joshua has signed to fight Tyson Fury later in the year after their fight in the summer.
Fury and Joshua have been on a collision course to fight each other for over a decade and, with the fight now signed, the boxing fraternity can start to look forward to one of, if not the sport’s biggest fights.
