Arjun Menon
A former unified champion returns to the ring in Jeddah with Tyson Fury already circling
Anthony Joshua makes his long-awaited return to the ring this Saturday, stepping in against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in a bout billed simply as “The Comeback.” The card, stacked with two world title fights and thirteen bouts in total, lands at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia — but every eye in the building will be on what this fight means for Joshua’s collision course with Tyson Fury.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga — “The Comeback” |
| Date | Saturday, July 25, 2026 |
| Venue | Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Main card start | 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. BST |
| Main event ring walks | Approx. 5:45 p.m. ET / 10:45 p.m. BST |
| Broadcast | DAZN PPV — $59.99 (US) / £19.99 (UK), free with DAZN Ultimate Tier |
| Records | Joshua 29-4 (26 KOs) · Prenga 20-1 (20 KOs) |
What Time Does Joshua vs. Prenga Start?
The main card kicks off at 1 p.m. ET, translating to 10 a.m. PT and 6 p.m. BST. Joshua’s ring walk is penciled in for roughly 5:45 p.m. ET / 10:45 p.m. BST, though with thirteen fights on the bill — several featuring prospects who haven’t been tested past four rounds — that window is more of a guideline than a guarantee.
How to Watch Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga
The fight is an exclusive DAZN pay-per-view, available worldwide. US viewers pay $59.99 on top of a standard DAZN subscription, while UK fans pay £19.99. For anyone already carrying DAZN’s Ultimate Tier, the card comes included at no extra charge — a detail worth knowing if you’re also planning to catch Fury’s own tune-up against Mariusz Wach the night before, since that fight won’t be available as a separate stream.
Two world titles headline the undercard:
- Hamzah Sheeraz (23-0) defends his WBO super middleweight title against Simon Zachenhuber (29-1) over 12 rounds
- Josh Kelly (18-1) defends his IBF junior middleweight title against unbeaten Caoimhin Agyarko (18-0) over 12 rounds
- Reito Tsutsumi (4-0) takes on Alvino Herrera (18-0-2) at junior lightweight
Further down the bill, Oleksandr Khyzhniak, Mikie Tallon, Nishant Dev, Jacob Bank and a run of unbeaten prospects round out a genuinely deep thirteen-fight card.
- Also read: Where to Watch Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga: Full Streaming Guide, Fight Time and Price
Who Is Kristian Prenga, and How Real Is the Danger?
Prenga arrives with the kind of record that grabs attention on paper: 20-1 with 20 knockouts, every win coming inside the distance, and a six-foot-five frame that makes him a physically imposing test on the surface. His lone defeat came via points loss in an eight-rounder, back in just the fifth fight of his career.
But strip away the knockout tally and the resistance behind it looks thin. His last opponent, Joe Jones, carries a record of 15 losses in 31 fights. The man before that, Brandon Carmack, has lost 11 of 20. Prenga has been knocking out fighters who lose more than they win — a résumé built for highlight reels, not for a former unified heavyweight champion looking to shake off ring rust.
That gap between the punching power and the level of opposition is the whole story of this fight. Joshua enters as a significant favorite, and it would qualify as a genuine upset if Prenga is still standing after round five.
Who Is Anthony Joshua, and What’s He Fighting to Prove?
Anthony Joshua returns to the ring as a former two-time unified heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, a résumé built on stopping the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, and Andy Ruiz in their rematch, along with world-level names like Joseph Parker. At 29-4 with 26 knockouts, his record tells the story of a career that has swung between genuine dominance and hard, public setbacks — two losses to Oleksandr Usyk and a stoppage defeat to Daniel Dubois among them.
That last defeat is part of why this comeback matters so much. Coming off a knockdown-heavy stoppage loss raises real questions about how much high-level résistance Joshua can still absorb, and his response was to go out and dismantle Jake Paul in his most recent outing — a statement win, even against a lighter level of opposition, that re-established him as box office and put him back in position for the fight he’s chased for years: Fury.
Then came the car crash in Nigeria, ten days after the Paul fight, which killed two members of his team. Joshua has trained and prepared for Prenga carrying that loss, and however it’s addressed publicly on fight week, it sits underneath everything else about this comeback. A win doesn’t just move him toward Fury — it’s Joshua showing, to himself as much as anyone, that he can still do this.
Why This Tune-Up Fight Carries More Weight Than Usual
On paper, this looks like a routine step back into the ring following Joshua’s demolition of Jake Paul. In practice, the stakes are higher, and the timing matters more than most comeback fights.
Fury has already signed to face Joshua later in 2026, with November at Wembley the rumored date and venue. The build has effectively already started — Fury spent a recent post-fight interview needling Joshua from the microphone, ensuring the rivalry has plenty of heat before either man has thrown a punch at the other. Fury’s own tune-up against journeyman Mariusz Wach takes place in Thailand the night before, but without a live stream, meaning Saturday’s Jeddah card — and Joshua specifically — will own the spotlight.
There’s also a heavier layer of context beneath the boxing narrative. Joshua survived a car crash in Nigeria in December, just ten days after the Paul fight, an incident that killed two members of his team. Every camp, every training update, and now every ring walk this weekend carries that weight in the background, whether it’s spoken about or not.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time do ring walks start for Joshua vs. Prenga?
Joshua’s ring walk is estimated for around 5:45 p.m. ET / 10:45 p.m. BST, though undercard length can shift this earlier or later.
How can I watch the fight without paying for PPV separately?
DAZN Ultimate Tier subscribers get the card included at no additional cost beyond their subscription.
Is the Joshua vs. Fury fight confirmed?
It’s reported as signed for late 2026, with November at Wembley the rumored date and location, though full official confirmation is pending.
Who else is defending a title on the undercard?
Hamzah Sheeraz (WBO super middleweight) and Josh Kelly (IBF junior middleweight) both defend titles on the same card.
Looking Ahead
Saturday’s card is really a bridge fight — the last obstacle standing between Joshua and the biggest domestic heavyweight showdown boxing has lined up in years. If he handles Prenga the way the numbers suggest he should, the conversation shifts almost immediately to Wembley, to Fury, and to a fight that’s been building for over a decade. Jeddah is the undercard to that story. The main event comes later.