Anthony Joshua’s Next Fight Announced for July 25 in Saudi Arabia
Anthony Joshua’s next fight is now official: Ring Magazine says he will face Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a card tied to the Esports World Cup and shown exclusively on DAZN. The announcement gives Joshua a defined return date after months of talk about when he would box again and who would stand across from him.
Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga announced for July 25 in Riyadh
For Joshua, the news ends the wait over his next move and gives shape to the next stage of his career. The former two-time heavyweight champion has signed a multi-fight deal beginning with this July 25 appearance in Saudi Arabia. Joshua said he had taken time to “consolidate and rebuild” before stepping back into the ring, framing this bout as the starting point rather than a one-off comeback date.
His most recent widely documented high-level outing came against Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on September 21, 2024, where Dubois stopped him in the fifth round in an IBF heavyweight title fight. Joshua has already had one comeback bout since the Dubois loss, beating Jake Paul by sixth-round stoppage in Miami in December 2025, but his road back has also been shaped by personal tragedy after close friends and team members Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami were killed in a road crash in Nigeria later that month.
Prenga enters as the lesser-known name, but not as a mystery puncher with no threat. At 20-1 with 20 knockouts, he is 35 years old, stands 6-foot-5, lives in New Jersey, and came to boxing after a kickboxing background with no amateur boxing experience. He is not ranked by the four major sanctioning bodies, but has built a run of wins after his lone defeat and has boxed exclusively in the United States since 2022.
After Tyson Fury beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 10, Fury called out Joshua. With a win, Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury seems like a done deal.
The fight will be shown live worldwide from Riyadh, while outside reporting has tied the show to Saudi Arabia’s continuing use of marquee boxing events as part of major seasonal and international projects. In practical terms, Joshua vs. Prenga is more than a comeback headline; it is a reset fight for Joshua, a leap in class for Prenga, and another example of Riyadh’s hold on the heavyweight calendar.
