LONDON — Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will make his ring return following a fatal car crash against unheralded Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia in July.
Two of Joshua’s close friends were killed in the crash in Nigeria in December, just over a week after his last fight, a fifth round knock-out of YouTube star Jake Paul, AFP reported.
The 36-year-old Briton has been in talks to face his great domestic rival, Tyson Fury later this year in a bout that many observers feel is at least five years overdue.
“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring and this is the next step on that journey,” Joshua said in announcing the July 25 bout in Riyadh.
Shortly before the announcement, Saudi Arabia’s boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh suggested on social media that Joshua’s fight with Fury had been agreed.
“To my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed,” said Alalshikh, with Ring Magazine reporting that the British rivals would collide in the fourth quarter of the year.
First up for Joshua is 35-year-old Prenga, who has 20 wins – all by knock-out – in his 21 fights as a professional, although he has yet to face an opponent anywhere near the Briton’s class.
Joshua is an Olympic champion from London 2012 and a two-time heavyweight champion in the professional ranks.
He has 29 wins, 26 by KO, and four defeats, two by KO, in his career.
He won the IBF heavyweight title in 2016 with a second round knock-out of Charles Martin and went on to add the WBA, WBO and IBO belts before losing them in a shock seventh-round stoppage defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
He won back his belts in an immediate rematch six months later but lost them to former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2021.
He has had two more heavyweight title fights since then, losing a rematch to Usyk in 2022 and losing to fellow Britain Daniel Dubois by fifth round KO for the IBF title in 2024.
Joshua then underwent elbow surgery and also had a shoulder injury.
His only fight since then was the mismatch against Paul.
Fury made his comeback after a 16-month-long retirement two weeks ago with a unanimous points victory over Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov.
A couple of days later, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said that negotiations had begun to arrange a bout between the British heavyweights in November.
