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Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga: As it happened in Jeddah with AJ coming through huge scare to move closer to Tyson Fury fight

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Anthony Joshua VS Kristian Prenga

‘I wondered if AJ had come back too soon’

Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn on the Tyson Fury fight:

“We have signed the contracts. Everything is done.

“To be honest with you, tonight is all about the strength AJ has showed to even be here tonight – and the strength in that fight.

Anthony joshua VS Kristian Prenga

“No one can imagine what he has been through and during that first fight I was thinking, ‘we have come back too soon’.

“He needed boxing to help him come through this. It allowed him to focus his mind while he was going through so much grief and pain.

“He is a strong man and likes to deal with his problems on his own – I am not saying that is the right way but it is his way.

“When your career could be over, you have to go the depths one more time, like he has always done.”

AJ: That was for my Latz and Sina

Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua adds on his victory in Jeddah:

“That was more than punch power. It was spirit, that was was Latz, that was Sina [his late friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele]

“It’s been tough.”

AJ: Prenga has a serious future

Kristian Prenga

More from Anthony Joshua after being knocked down by Kristian Prenga:

“He’s a strong guy and I think Eddie Hearn wants to sign him now! He is going to do well. He has a serious future.

“With experience he will be up there with the rest of us. He is strong, durable and have me a good test – but champions rise.”

AJ on Fury fight: I hope fans have lovely treat

Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua, speaking to DAZN as he delivers a message to Tyson Fury:

“I am going to rip his heart out. I am the meanest and most vicious champion there has ever been!

“All jokes aside, there are two sides to this thing.

“You have to have that vim as a fighter but also respect.

I respect everything he has done and achieved but as a someone who has been calling for this fight for some time, it is here now.

“I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.”

Joshua thanks Prenga after wild win

Anthony Joshua, speaking to DAZN:

“I want to give a massive thank you to Kristian Prenga and his team for putting up a good fight. It means a lot to them and me.”

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BOXING

Eddie Hearn responds to Tyson Fury’s Anthony Joshua withdrawal concerns as major venue update emerges

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Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury

Fury has claimed he’d be up for fighting “somebody else” later this year, casting doubt on an all-British clash with Joshua.

Eddie Hearn has responded to Tyson Fury casting major doubt on an all-British heavyweight bout with Anthony Joshua, while an update on the fight taking place at Wembley has emerged.

Anthony Joshua And Tyson Fury

Fury returns to action against 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in a non-televised bout in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday (July 24), before Joshua returns for his first fight since being involved in a fatal car accident that resulted in the tragic deaths of his friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele in December 2025, when he takes on Albania’s Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia on Saturday (July 25).

The fights against relatively low-level opponents are intended to be warm-up bouts ahead of a proposed all-British showdown between Fury and Joshua later this year.

Anthony Joshua

While Joshua appears keen to face Fury without looking past Prenga, the self-proclaimed Gypsy King has cast major doubt on the fight.

In a scathing rant on Sky Sports yesterday (July 23), Fury slammed Joshua, claiming he is open to fighting “somebody else” later this year rather than his fellow Brit.

“Let’s not make this about silly Mr Bodybuilder,” Fury said.

Tyson Fury

“I’m not interested in him or his mates or anybody else. I don’t give a **** about him. I don’t care if I ever see him again in my life. If I do, I do. If I don’t, I don’t.

“I’m not interested in him.”

ody from being a greedy belly into a bodybuilder”.

Eddie Hearn speaks out on Fury vs Joshua withdrawal concerns

Matchroom Boxing chief and Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has now weighed in with his thoughts after Fury sparked withdrawal fears, claiming Joshua is more likely to fulfil an agreement to fight the Gypsy King. He added that he harbours doubts about Fury’s participation.

“Look at history,” Hearn explained to Sky Sports. “Check the facts, check the resume. If you really want to pick one fighter who’s more reliable than the other, I don’t think it’s a close-run race.

“What fight has AJ ever signed for that he’s not competed in? What fight has AJ ever pulled out of?

“He’s got the most solid resume and the most professional attitude of any fighter I’ve ever worked with. Can we say the same about Tyson Fury? No. That’s the reality of the situation.

“If odds are being thrown around about who might pull out of this fight, trust me, it isn’t Anthony Joshua.

“Don’t forget, AJ has not only fought every contender he could have, he also previously signed to fight Tyson Fury, who pulled out of the fight because of an arbitration ruling involving Deontay Wilder.

“So don’t worry about AJ, he’s as game as they come. But we have our doubts about whether Fury will turn up, especially if AJ looks great on Saturday night.”

Sky Sports also issued an update on Fury vs Joshua taking place at Wembley Stadium, with Brent Council confirming it has yet to be contacted regarding an extended curfew, which would allow for 2 am ring walks.

The current curfew is set at 11 pm.

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‘Unbelievable’ Anthony Joshua ‘in a better place than he’s ever been’

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Promoter has praised former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for showing “incredible strength” after the tragedy he survived in December.

Joshua was travelling in a car that was involved in a fatal accident, claiming the lives of two of the Londoner’s closest friends, Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.

Joshua was injured and his future in the ring looked undecided, but he has since announced he will return to the ring on July 25 to face Kristian Prenga, in the hope of then finally getting in the ring with Tyson Fury and then – should he win – challenging again for world honours.

Hearn has been by Joshua’s side since he turned professional after claiming gold at the London 2012 Olympics.

Asked by BoxingScene whether he had noticed changes in his friend as he heads into what is surely the final phase of the 36-year-old’s professional career, Hearn said: “I think it would be very difficult… I mean, ‘Josh’ is quite a private guy, to be honest with you. We’re close, but I don’t see anybody ever having that kind of conversation with him because he’s a very proud man. Sometimes that can be, you know, not the right thing to do [bottling up emotions]. But ‘Josh’ is the kind of guy where I know when we talk about men’s mental health and stuff like this, people won’t be necessarily an advocate of this strategy, I’m actually an advocate of this strategy in that I’m the same, where it’s like, ‘this is my fight, right? I can control it.’ You know, ‘it’s on me.’

“And I know it’s good to talk and all that kind of stuff. But Anthony’s just not like that. He’s strong enough to deal with this kind of stuff and he takes that on board that it’s his battle. Does that make sense? So he’s not the kind of guy where I would sit down with, [and] I’ll say to him, ‘You alright? Everything good?’ But he’s not, I think, one of those people that we’d have a half an hour talk about his struggles and all that kind of stuff. It’s a struggle. Life is a struggle. What he went through is an incredible struggle of grief. But he also is the kind of guy where it’s like, ‘I’ve got this.’ ‘I will deal with this myself.’ And I think there has been a huge amount of grief and a huge amount of struggle.

“And I think the strength that he’s shown is incredible to come through the physical injuries, the emotional injuries, the grief. The way that he’s supporting the families [of his two friends] and putting that at the forefront of everything that he does. And in the meantime, changing camps and getting ready for the biggest moment of his career.

“Unbelievable individual and a very strong man.”

Joshua is now 29-4 (26 KOs) and last boxed when he broke Jake Paul’s jaw and stopped his overmatched foe in six rounds in Miami in December.

And Hearn is optimistic that the former champion’s best days might still lie ahead of him.

“I actually do,” Hearn said. “I can’t tell you if he was a better fighter three years ago than he is now. I don’t think he was because of the experience that he has now. But what I can tell you is right now, physically, the camp, the conditioning, the clearness of his mind, he’s in a better place than he’s ever been. I do also acknowledge he’s coming to the back-end of his career. So he’s not 26, 27, but he’s still got the physicality. He’s fitter than ever. He understands the sport better than ever. I think his set up and his team may be better than ever. So we shall see.”

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