The fight that boxing fans have been begging for is actually happening. Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are finally stepping into the ring together, with the heavyweight showdown confirmed for November later this year. Netflix is set to broadcast it, which means this thing is going to be massive.
Before Joshua faces Fury though, he's got some warm-up work to do. On July 25 in Riyadh, he'll fight Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga. Think of it as Joshua getting his timing right, dusting off the ring rust before he faces one of the biggest tests of his career.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn called this a landmark deal, and honestly, it's been a long time coming. These two have been on a collision course for years, and fans have been dying to see it happen. Prenga isn't exactly a name that will scare anyone, but with 20 knockout wins in 21 fights, he's decent enough to give Joshua some real rounds.
The AJ we're about to see is a different version from a couple of years ago. He last fought in December, knocking out Jake Paul in Miami. But life got complicated. Joshua survived a devastating car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends, and he stepped back from boxing to process everything. He needed the mental break as much as the physical one.
Since then, he's been training in Valencia with Oleksandr Usyk, his former rival. That's the kind of serious preparation we're talking about. His last big heavyweight fight didn't go well, though. In 2024, Daniel Dubois stopped him in the fifth round. That loss has been sitting with him, and this Fury fight is his chance to remind people why he was once the king of the heavyweight division.
Fury, meanwhile, has been waiting too. After beating Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, he basically said enough is enough. Fans have waited long enough. Time for Joshua and Fury to finally dance. Both guys are hungry, both have something to prove, and November is going to be absolutely insane.
This is the kind of fight that reminds you why boxing still matters. Two massive heavyweights, years of anticipation, and a chance for one of them to write their legacy. November can't come soon enough.
