Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury signed for late 2026

Contributor ·27 April 2026

Anthony Joshua will fight Tyson Fury in late 2026 following a July 25 tuneup against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, according to Ring Magazine and multiple outlets. Saudi Arabian boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh tweeted that the long-awaited Fury clash is signed, writing, “To my friends in Great Britain, it’s happening. It’s signed.” Fury acknowledged the post on Instagram.

Joshua returns to the ring for the first time since his sixth-round stoppage of Jake Paul last December and the fatal car accident in Nigeria that killed two members of his team. The 36-year-old former heavyweight titleholder signed a multi-fight deal with Alalshikh’s General Entertainment Authority, with the Prenga bout serving as a warmup for the Fury showdown. “It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring,” Joshua said in a statement, per MMA Mania.

Prenga presents minimal threat on paper

Prenga carries a 20-1 record with 20 knockouts but has fought at the club level for a decade, facing the likes of Joey Dawejko and Willie Jake Jr on regional circuits in Canada and the United States. As Bad Left Hook noted, the Albanian-American heavyweight is not considered a serious threat — nothing close to the Andy Ruiz upset that derailed a previous Joshua-Fury negotiation in 2019. Prenga stopped Joe Jones earlier this year in Las Vegas and told reporters he plans to “shock the world” in Saudi Arabia, though oddsmakers are expected to install Joshua as a massive favourite.

Fury returned from a brief retirement with a lopsided win over Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 in London and has been calling for the Joshua fight since. The 35-2-1 Fury lost back-to-back decisions to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024 before announcing his retirement, only to reverse course months later. Ring Magazine reported the Fury-Joshua bout is set for the fourth quarter of 2026, likely in the UK, assuming Joshua handles Prenga without incident.

The July 25 card will stream live on DAZN. A formal announcement for the Fury bout could come immediately after Joshua’s fight in Riyadh.

Photo: Jumeirah / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

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