Who is Kristian Prenga? Anthony Joshua to face Albanian heavyweight in comeback fight

Kristian Prenga (pictured) will fight Anthony Joshua in July (Getty)

Kristian Prenga has warned Anthony Joshua that he has picked the wrong heavyweight for his comeback fight with the Albanian vowing to scupper Joshua’s preparations for a meeting with Tyson Fury.

Joshua has agreed a deal to finally take on Fury in a blockbuster meeting of British heavyweights later in 2026, but will first make his return to boxing against a little-known 35-year-old with an impressive record of 20-1.

Joshua, an Olympic gold medalist and former two-time world heavyweight champion, last fought in December, stopping YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in six rounds. Ten days later, Joshua survived a fatal car crash in Nigeria, which killed two of his teammates – Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

Since then, Joshua has been training with former opponent Oleksandr Usyk in the latter’s native Ukraine.

He is now set to return to the ring on Saturday 25 July in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – and could yet face a tricky evening.

Born in Orosh, Albania, Prenga is a noted knockout artist, winning 20 of his 21 professional fights via a KO or TKO. His sole defeat came to Giovanni Auriemma in 2017.

“Anthony Joshua is a great fighter,” Prenga said. “But he made a terrible miscalculation in picking me as his opponent.

“This is the kind of fight that changes everything in my life and his. I know they have big plans ahead after this fight. I know they are overlooking me. I’m happy about that. I will derail their plans and shock the world this July in Saudi Arabia.”