It has been confirmed that Anthony Joshua will clash with Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in a suspected warm-up fight before taking on Tyson Fury later this year.
Despite suggestions that AJ would lock horns with Deontay Wilder, it's Prenga, a relatively unknown entity amongst British boxing fans, who will step up to the plate in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 25th July.
Joshua is yet to return to the ring since defeating YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December 2025, and while he'll be keen to climb back up the heavyweight mountain ahead of an all-British bout with the Gypsy King, Prenga will be out to cause an almighty that would surely put AJ-Fury at risk.
Read on as we tell you everything you need to know about Joshua's July opponent.
Who is Kristian Prenga?
Age and nationality
Prenga is 35-years-old and was born on 24th January 1991 in Orosh, Albania. He now fights out of New Jersey in the USA.
Height
Prenga stands at 6ft 5ins (196cm), one inch shorter than 6ft 6ins (198cm) Joshua.
The Albanian will prove an entirely different threat to AJ's last opponent, Jake Paul, who was significantly shorter than the Brit at 6ft 1ins (185cm).
Weight
Prenga tipped the scales at 264.3lbs ahead of his TKO win over Joe Jones in his most recent fight in February 2026.
This compares to Joshua, who weighed in at 243.4lbs for his December victory over Paul. AJ's career-heaviest weight came against Jermaine Franklin in April, coming in at 255.4lbs, which still falls 8.9lbs lighter than Prenga's most recent weight.
Record
Prenga boasts an impressive 20-1 record, with his only defeat coming via points against Giovanni Auriemma in just his fifth professional fight in February 2017.
His debut victory came via way of TKO against Pavel Siska in May 2016, and he's developed quite the reputation for knocking out opponents, boasting a 100% KO success rate.
Joshua has three more defeats on his record than Prenga, losing to Andy Ruiz, Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk twice, but the former two-time world heavyweight champion has undoubtedly fought at a higher level than the Albanian.
Last fight
Prenga won via TKO in the first round of his most recent bout against Joe Jones at the Showboat Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey back in February.
The 35-year-old has fast become the best ticket seller in New Jersey, with five of his last seven fights taking place in the state.
