On July 25, at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua returns to action against Kristian Prenga. Should AJ win, and Tyson Fury win his rumoured warm-up fight on August 1, they are expected to meet, as recently confirmed by Turki Alalshikh. In an interview with Rick Reeno on the Mr Verzace Podcast, Joshua discussed the magnitude of the Fury fight and named five potential opponents.
Anthony Joshua ready for July 25 comeback fight
Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) was last seen in action, defeating Jake Paul in the sixth round of their clash. That was Joshua’s first fight under the tutelage of Team Usyk, but shortly after that, AJ was involved in a fatal car crash that took the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
Many wondered if we’d ever see AJ back in the ring again, but Joshua appears focused on once again reaching the pinnacle of the heavyweight division. Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs) clearly has power, but he has never fought on AJ’s level before.
Anthony Joshua discusses Fury and heavyweight future
Speaking to Rick Reeno, AJ was asked whether his probable fight with Tyson Fury will be the defining heavyweight fight of this era:
“No, because there’s a lot more fights to happen, a lot more big fights. It’s one of the defining fights of this era because with me and Fury, it can’t be the only one, because I know if I stay around long enough, there’s the rematch with (Daniel) Dubois, there’s a potential Fabio (Wardley) fight, there’s an Agit (Kabayel) fight out there, providing he becomes champion, how big that would be.
“There’s an Itauma fight, because he’s coming up the rankings. There’s still the Wilder fight out there. These are going to be massive fights. Fury is just another number, and I’m trying to say, I don’t put him on no pedal stool. He ain’t above no one. They’re all in my way, all on the same level. I’m not putting him above no one,” said Joshua.