Joshua vs Prenga – all you need to know

Anthony Joshua returns to the ring against Kristian Prenga on Saturday in a warm-up bout for his planned super-fight with fellow British heavyweight Tyson Fury.

Joshua, 36, last fought in December when he beat Jake Paul with a devastating sixth-round knockout in Miami.

Albania’s Prenga, 35, carries knockout power but has never established himself as a world-level contender in the heavyweight division.

Will Joshua get the win required to keep alive hopes of the fight with Fury? Or can Prenga pull off a major upset?

Here is all you need to know about the bout in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Adversity to history – Agyarko’s world title dream

Briton Hamzah Sheeraz makes the first defence of his WBO super-middleweight title against Germany’s Simon Zachenhuber in the co-main event.

Fellow Briton Josh Kelly also defends his IBF light-middleweight belt against Ireland’s Caoimhin Agyarko.

The co-main event, which sees Sheeraz make the maiden defence of his WBO super-middleweight title against Zachenhuber, is slated for 21:40.

Joshua and Prenga are not expected to make their walk to the ring before 23:00.

Anthony Joshua v Kristian Prenga – heavyweight

Hamzah Sheeraz (c) v Simon Zachenhuber – WBO super-middleweight title

Josh Kelly (c) v Caoimhin Agyarko – IBF light-middleweight world title

Reito Tsutsumi v Alvino Herrera – super-featherweight

Jacob Bank v Pawel August – super-middleweight

Nishant Dev v Cesar Diaz – light-middleweight

How do Joshua and Prenga’s records compare?

Joshua is just shy of three months older than Prenga, but their careers have followed very different paths.

After winning gold at the 2012 Olympics, Joshua turned professional the following year and went on to become a two-time heavyweight world champion.

Joshua won each of his first 16 fights inside the distance in a run that culminated in him beating Charles Martin to claim the IBF title.

His crowning moment came in 2017 when he stopped Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round at Wembley to unify titles – adding the WBA belt to his collection.

In 2018, Joshua outpointed Joseph Parker – winning by unanimous decision – to claim the WBO title.

Joshua tasted defeat for the first time against American Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 but earned revenge to reclaim the titles in a rematch.

He was beaten in successive fights by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, before embarking on a four-fight winning streak to earn the chance to become a three-time world champion.

However, fellow Briton Daniel Dubois, who held the IBF belt, put in a career-best performance to beat Joshua by sixth-round knockout in September 2024 at Wembley Stadium.

Joshua returned to the ring in December 2025 and stopped YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul to take his overall record to 29 wins and four defeats, with 26 of his victories coming by knockout.

Prenga made his professional debut three years after Joshua and won his first four fights by knockout.

The Albanian fell to his first and only loss in his fifth bout and steps into the ring on Saturday on a 16-fight winning streak, although he does not have any recognisable names on his record.

Prenga does carry a knockout threat after picking up all 20 of his victories in that fashion.

What belts are on the line in Joshua v Prenga?

There are no belts on the line, but there is a big prize waiting on the other side of the contest for Joshua if he wins.

After a decade-long saga, Joshua and British rival Fury have signed a deal to finally get in the ring.

BBC