After a tragic and turbulent end to his 2025, Anthony Joshua has booked his return to the ring.
British former heavyweight boxing champion Joshua, it was announced Monday, will fight Kristian Prenga at "The Comeback," part of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. DAZN will stream the fight on July 25.
And on top of that, the 36-year-old Joshua has a follow-up arranged for either the third or fourth quarter of the year against Tyson Fury on Netflix in a fight promoted by Ring Magazine. That announcement came Monday from Ring Magazine "journalist" Mike Coppinger. Coppinger's video post said the fight will happen in the third quarter of 2026, but his actual text on social media said the fight will be in the fourth quarter. While that key detail was left unclear, Coppinger took the opportunity to gush praise over his boss, Turki Al-Sheikh, for putting the fight together, which is par for the course in the social media influencer era.
That bout likely rests on Joshua having no issues with Prenga in July, which is something Prenga predicted will be a factor when he's done.
Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs) is a 35-year-old 10-year pro, but he'll be facing by far the biggest test of his career with his 100 percent knockout rate on the line.
"Anthony Joshua is a great fighter, but he made a terrible miscalculation in picking me as his opponent," Prenga said. "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 …"
Joshua was involved in a car accident in Nigeria that killed his personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and Sina Ghami, his strength coach. They were killed when a vehicle they were riding in with Joshua, driven by Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, collided with a stationary truck.
That accident came just days after his knockout win over Jake Paul, which left Paul with a broken and mangled jaw in their Netflix headliner.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) has key heavyweight wins over the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr., and he also holds the honor of knocking out former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in the second round.
"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," Joshua said in a news release. "… 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."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Anthony Joshua returns in July, gets Tyson Fury on Netflix late 2026
