Anthony Joshua makes history in AJ’s next fight as a boxer against Tyson Fury
Kristian Prenga’s boxing hero is the English boxer who became world heavyweight champion decades before Saturday’s Albanian opponent, Anthony Joshua.
Lennox Lewis is a big fan of Prenga and once spoke to him on FaceTime, according to a 10/1 long shot against the fighter known as AJ.
If Prenga is shocked, he will find himself in contention to be one of the successors of Lewis and Joshua as honourees.
Here is Prenga’s boxing record, what he had to say about the fight and key details about his fight with Joshua.
Kristian Prenga’s record: Boxing knockout artist
Making his Munich debut in 2016, Prenga won his first four fights, all held in Germany.
Prenga’s next bout was his only loss, losing on points to Giovanni Auriemma in the eighth round in the Netherlands, where he spent two years running with boxers.
He then won five fights in Canada and one in Colombia before his 10-fight win streak, all of which were in the US.
Only two of Prenga’s fights have gone past the fourth round, knocking out his opponents in the first round seven times, including each of the last three.
| Wins (KOs) | Knockouts (KOs) |
| 20 (20) | 1 (0) |
Kristian Prenga vs Anthony Joshua: What Prenga says
“I worked my whole life for this,” said the 35-year-old boy, who thanks his father for training him in boxing when he was young, and for instilling in him the “mind” and “discipline” needed to succeed in this sport.
“I have been waiting for this all my life and I hope to show the world [that].
“Every boxer has his weaknesses and mistakes in the ring, no matter who he is, I’ve seen it all.
“I have a lot of respect for Anthony Joshua; I grew up watching all his fights. I saw his weaknesses and what he did very well. I will show exactly what I paid attention to.”
Prenga vs Joshua: The boxing fight ‘was seen’
Prenga’s coach, Sammy Lushaj, revealed how he met the boxer six years ago.
“He entered the gym where I was exercising,” Lushaj told DAZN. “That’s really how we met.
“I was wearing an Albanian jersey with a flag and he saw me, he got away from everyone else and came to say hello.
“I was like ‘Whoa, it’s Kristian Prenga.’ We kept in touch and have been friends ever since.
“He’s like a little brother to me – I’ve been there with him in every fight, a lot of training sessions and every camp.”
Lushaj says Prenga had a prediction that he will face Joshua. “A few years ago, we were talking about fights and stuff and he was like ‘I’m going to fight AJ’,” he explained.
“I was like ‘okay.’ He kept bringing it up, over and over. Then when he got that call, I was with him and we were going to train.
“I was like ‘really?’ He just showed it, I think.”
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga: ‘A real challenge’
Joshua called Prenga “very dangerous” and “a very good fighter”.
“I believe, I know, I’ve studied it and I’m ready,” said the 36-year-old player, who has a record of 29 wins and four losses.
“We chose Kristian Prenga for a reason,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “He is a real challenge.
“He’s got a world behind him and a chance to change his life, he’s swimming with the big boys and we’re finding out if he needs arm pads or not.
If he doesn’t it will be a real fight, if he does it will be over quickly.
When is Kristian Prenga fighting Anthony Joshua? It’s a day to fight
The event will take place on Saturday, July 25 2026 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Prime time for Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga
The fight is expected to start at around 23:00 BST on Saturday. Here’s how that translates to different areas.
| The day | BST | ET | PT |
| Saturday, July 25 | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
Where to watch Joshua vs Prenga: TV channel
This fight is live only on DAZN pay-per-view. Broadcast starts at 18:00 BST (13:00 ET / 10:00 PT)
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga live stream: Watch the fight online
Fans can watch on a variety of devices and on the go using the dedicated DAZN app.
Joshua vs Prenga: How much is DAZN worth?
Fans can buy the fight as a pay-per-view that will also include a free eight-day trial of DAZN including Pierce O’Leary’s fight against Mark Chamberlain on August 1 for UK and US consumers.
US and Canadian pay-per-view customers will be able to watch the Lamont Roach Jr vs. William Zepeda fight on August 1.
Alternatively, viewers can purchase DAZN’s Ultimate Tier package, which includes at least 12 pay-per-view fights per year including Joshua vs. Prenga, and 185 regular fight nights.
Here’s how much each pack costs.
| PPV | Ultimate Tier | |
| In the UK | £19.99 (one break) | £24.99 (monthly) |
| In the US | $59.99 (one time) | $44.99 (monthly) |
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga undercard: Full list of fights
There are five undercard battles:
- Hamzah Sheeraz vs Simon Zachenhuber
- Josh Kelly vs Caoimhin Agyarko
- Reito Tsutsumi vs Alvino Herrera
- Jacob Bank vs Pawel August
- Nishant Dev vs Cesar Diaz
Here are the approximate times each battle is scheduled to start at different locations.
| Fight back | UK time | ET time | PT time |
| Joshua vs Prenga | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
| Sheeraz vs Zachenhuber | 21:40 | 16:40 | 13:40 |
| Kelly vs Agyarko | 20:37 | 15:37 | 12:37 |
| Tsutsumi vs Herrera | 19:43 | 14:43 | 11:43 |
| Bank vs August | 18:56 | 13:56 | 10:56 |
| Dev vs Diaz | 18:10 | 13:10 | 10:10 |
Anthony Joshua next fight: Tyson Fury awaits
Joshua has dismissed questions about fellow former world champion Fury but is expected to meet the Mancunian later this year if both men win this week.
Fury, 37, faces 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday, and reports say the fighter known as the ‘Gypsy King’ will travel to Jeddah to watch Joshua.
“We don’t want to talk about Tyson Fury,” said Joshua, stressing his need to “focus” on the rocker Prenga, who is from Albania and is yet to face Joshua’s lineage fight.
“With respect, I’ve done everything I can about the future. Let’s focus on work.”
Photo: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
