Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally have a real target window. The long-delayed British heavyweight fight is reportedly set for late 2026, but Joshua first has to get through Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ring Magazine reported that Joshua will face Prenga at an event billed as “The Comeback”, live on DAZN, before moving toward Fury in the fourth quarter of the year. Saudi boxing figure Turki Alalshikh also pushed the bigger news on X, writing, “To my friends in Great Britain, it’s happening. It’s signed.”
See the announcements below:
Breaking news! Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua is a done deal, I’m told, for the fourth quarter of this year, @ringmagazine show on Netflix! Biggest fight in UK history. And like so many other major fights, it’s happening because of @Turki_alalshikh. Canelo-Crawford, Beterbiev-Bivol,… pic.twitter.com/vvReXosbF4
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) April 27, 2026
https://x.com/Turki_alalshikh/status/2048735243398455604
Joshua Has to Clear One More Heavyweight Hurdle
Joshua enters the Prenga fight at 29-4. He is an Olympic gold medalist for Great Britain and a former two-time unified heavyweight champion, but the last few years have been rough terrain. He lost to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou before that, and beat Otto Wallin in 2023.
Prenga is not the name fans were waiting for, but the risk is obvious enough. The Albanian heavyweight is 17-1 and has won 13 straight fights by knockout or TKO. Joshua should be the clear A-side, but heavyweight boxing has a cruel sense of humor when someone looks too far ahead.
Fury brings his own messy road into this. He beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to become unified heavyweight champion, later built his defining trilogy with Deontay Wilder, then lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024. After another retirement turn, Fury came back on April 11 and beat Arslanbek Makhmudov by wide decision in London.
That is why this fight still matters even after years of delays. Fury and Joshua were the two biggest British heavyweight stars of their era, yet belts, losses, rematches, retirements, and boxing politics kept pushing them apart. Now the door is open again, but Joshua cannot trip over Prenga on the way in.
If AJ wins in July, Fury vs. Joshua becomes the late-2026 monster fight boxing has been teasing forever. If he loses, the whole thing goes back into the heavyweight swamp, and nobody needs another chapter of that nonsense.
