Nigerian-born British boxer, Anthony Joshua, will today clash with Albanian pugilist, Kristian Prenga, at the Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in his first bout after a fatal road crash that claimed the lives of two of his associates.
The fight, which starts at 6:00 pm Nigerian time, is likely a warm-up for Joshua’s anticipated blockbuster clash with Tyson Fury in November.
AJ’s opponent, Prenga, is a 35-year-old boxer with a record of 20 wins and one loss.
Joshua, 36, last fought in December 2025 when he defeated YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul, at the sixth round of a controversial mismatch that took place in Miami.
Shortly after, the former heavyweight champion was involved in a fatal accident in Nigeria. He survived with bruised ribs, but two of his closest friends and long-time team members, Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, lost their lives.
Ahead of tonight’s fight, Joshua has had to prepare without his late friends.
“It’s tough, every time I think about it, it hurts,” Joshua told BBC Sport. “Even talking about it no… pictures… it hurts but I keep my mind occupied, you know.”
“If I stop, you let it sink in and I’m not ready for it to sink in yet,” he added.
Without looking beyond Prenga, Joshua has admitted his dream is to have his hand raised in Jeddah before setting up a showdown with Fury, the most long-awaited and lucrative clash in British boxing history.
Meanwhile, Fury on Friday claimed a seventh-round TKO over Mariusz Wach at the Max Muay Thai Stadium in Thailand as he took a step closer to his fight against Joshua.
After Fury had dominated over the opening six rounds, Wach was seen signalling to his corner to wave the fight, before the officials ended the contest.
As a result, the Gypsy King is now well on track to face AJ in their all-British meeting later in the year.
Fury said after yesterday’s fight that he was doubtful Joshua would be able to get through his fight against Prenga on Saturday.
