On Saturday, Anthony Joshua returns to the ring when he faces Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The fight will stream live on DAZN PPV.
On paper, this is a fight Joshua would be expected to win with ease, but external factors make what should be a tune-up for Joshua vs. Tyson Fury later this year seem more high-risk for the two-time former unified heavyweight champion.
Joshua’s most recent fight was his six-round demolition of Jake Paul on Dec. 19, a fight that left Paul with a shattered jaw and Joshua with a bounce-back victory after his own knockout loss to Daniel Dubois. Unfortunately, Joshua was involved in a car crash in Nigeria just 10 days after defeating Paul, with the crash leaving two of his friends dead.
It would have been understandable for Joshua to never fight again following such a tragic incident. But Joshua eventually made it clear he intended to continue fighting, and in the ensuing months, a fight with Fury appeared finally ready to get over the finishing line after 10 years of talk.
Edgar Berlanga looking to show off his reinvention in Zuffa Boxing debut against Steven Butler
Brian Campbell
Joshua was in attendance for Fury’s April victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov, though he refused to enter the ring when Fury demanded it. Still, the fight has been announced and is actively being advertised on Netflix, even if it doesn’t yet have a confirmed date or location.
Before a fight with Fury can happen, Joshua needs to get by Prenga, a fighter who has never faced an opponent anywhere near Joshua’s level but sports a shiny 20-1 record with all 20 wins by knockout.
There’s not much to say about Prenga’s record. He has faced no opponent of note and has stopped seven opponents in the first round. He’s a heavyweight with enough power to take out low-level opposition and will hope that power game carries up to the elite level of the sport.
Saturday’s undercard features a pair of title fights. The biggest sees rising star Hamzah Sheeraz look to defend his WBO super middleweight title against Simon Zachenhuber. The 27-year-old is fresh off a second-round knockout of Alem Begic to claim the vacant title. He also scored a knockout of Edgar Berlanga last July to really expand his starpower. Plus, Josh Kelly looks to defend the IBF junior middleweight title against Caoimhin Agyarko.
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the undercard before getting to a prediction and expert pick on the main event below.
As long as Joshua has his head on straight and isn’t affected by the tragic car accident that took two of his friends, it’s hard to expect anything other than a dominant performance by the far more proven boxer. Prenga has enough power that if Joshua has mental lapses, an upset could be sprung.
Joshua is a professional, though, and the expectation is he comes into the ring at something close to his current best. As long as that’s the case, there’s no doubt how this should play out. Pick: Anthony Joshua via TKO4
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