Joshua Returns July 25 vs Prenga in Riyadh — Fury Showdown Signed for November

• Anthony Joshua will return to the ring on July 25 in Riyadh against undefeated Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga (20-1, all wins inside the distance), as part of the Esports World Cup card streaming worldwide on DAZN
• Eddie Hearn has confirmed the long-awaited Tyson Fury fight is signed for November 2026 on Netflix — Q4 as Ring Magazine first reported, with Turki Alalshikh credited as the deal-maker
• Both Fury and Joshua now have aligned tune-ups out of the way, meaning we are eight months away from the biggest British heavyweight fight ever made

The Comeback Is On — and It's Not a Soft Touch

Make no mistake, this is the announcement British boxing fans have been waiting for. Joshua has been out of the ring since the Daniel Dubois defeat at Wembley in 2024 — that's nearly two years away from the sport — and the speculation about whether he'd ever return at all was getting deafening. Today, in a slick announcement out of Riyadh, Eddie Hearn and Turki Alalshikh confirmed the comeback. July 25, Esports World Cup card, DAZN globally, and AJ back where the story restarts. The opponent is Kristian Prenga. Now, on paper that sounds like a name a lot of fans won't know — and that's fair. But let's not pretend this is a journeyman. Prenga is 20-1 with every win coming inside the distance. The lone defeat came back when he was a kid, and he's been chopping people in half ever since. The Albanian-American is exactly the kind of opponent the Saudis love putting in with returning superstars: a real puncher, a recognisable name in his own scene, and someone with enough credibility that nobody can call it a tune-up that's been hand-picked from the bargain bin.

The Fury Fight — Officially November

Here's the bit that's going to dominate every back page tomorrow. Hearn has confirmed Joshua vs Fury is signed. November. Netflix. Done. The deal that has been "close" for what feels like a decade is, finally, ink on paper. "Fury has just had his tune-up fight with 12 really vital rounds to get him sharp for the next one and I expect us to do the same," Hearn said, referencing Fury's points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov earlier this month. The symmetry is no accident. Both men get a 12-rounder under their belts, both clear out the cobwebs, and then they walk to the ring in November in front of a global Netflix audience that could stretch into nine figures. Turki Alalshikh has been the central figure in pulling this together, and you have to give him his credit. Other promoters spent years posturing about this fight. His Excellency just wrote the cheques and got both camps in a room. If you know, you know — that's how big fights get made in 2026.

Why Prenga Is Smarter Than People Will Say

You'll see takes online tonight calling Prenga a soft touch. Don't believe a word of it. Joshua has been out for nearly two years. He's 36. He needs ring time. He needs someone who'll come and let him hit them, but who'll also test his chin a little bit, force him to be sharp, and remind his body what 12-ounce gloves feel like. Prenga ticks all those boxes. He's a southpaw — sort of — and he punches genuinely hard. He'll bring tension into the contest. And here's the kicker: if Joshua gets sloppy, if the rust is real, Prenga has the power to make him pay. Look at what happened to Joshua against Dubois. That right hand caught him cold and the night was effectively over by round one. AJ cannot afford a repeat against any heavy-handed opponent in his first fight back, let alone with a generational mega-fight three months later. The pressure on him to look brilliant on July 25 is enormous.

What This Means for the Heavyweight Division

Let's not beat around the bush — this announcement effectively freezes the heavyweight division until November. Usyk faces Rico Verhoeven in Giza on May 23. Fabio Wardley defends against Dubois on May 9. Jarrell Miller has just won a WBA eliminator and is screaming for his shot. But the entire division knows that whoever holds the belts come November is going to have to deal with the winner of Joshua-Fury. And that's even before you factor in the politics of where the WBC and IBF straps end up. For Wardley and Dubois, the May 9 fight in Manchester just got more important. The winner becomes the WBO mandatory in waiting for Joshua-Fury — and that puts him on a direct collision course with the biggest payday in the sport.

My Take: This Is Britain's Biggest Fight Ever — Don't Mess It Up

I'll say it now and I'll keep saying it until November. Joshua vs Fury is the biggest fight British boxing has ever made. Bigger than Lennox-Bruno. Bigger than Calzaghe-Hopkins. Bigger than Khan-Brook. This is two former unified heavyweight champions, both knocking on 38, both with global Netflix money behind them, and both with genuine bad blood that's been building for half a decade. It's massive. My only fear? That one of them slips up before November. Joshua could get clipped by Prenga. Fury could… well, Fury could do absolutely anything between now and the autumn. The boxing gods have a habit of breaking British hearts the week before a mega-fight. So enjoy the build-up. Buy the tickets if you can. And pray that nothing goes wrong before that ring walk in November. For the Bronze Bomber, for Big Baby, for Wardley and Dubois — sorry lads, the spotlight just moved. November belongs to AJ and Fury. Fury says he's retiring after this. Joshua hasn't fought in two years. There may never be another chance to make this fight. The wait is over.