Nigerian-born former world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Olaseni Oluwafemi Joshua has received confirmation that his return to the ring will come on July 25th, seven months after he survived a fatal car accident near Sagamu.
Sports247 reports that Joshua is still recovering from the accident that claimed two of his best friends on December 29th, but his management team believe getting an opportunity to concentrate on training will help him heal faster.
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The fight will come up before Joshua eventually steps into the roped square for his long awaited ‘Battle of Britain’ with fellow-former world champ, Tyson Fury in November, before which ‘The Gypsy King’ also has a warm-up fight in August.
Consequently, ‘AJ’ will step back into the ring in Saudi Arabia on July 25th against Albania’s Kristian Prenga, in a bout that is part of a multi-fight deal tagged ‘The Comeback’ and will be broadcast live on DAZN.
Fight promoter, Turki Alalshikh confirmed that Joshua is firmly on the comeback trail and already looking forward to his date against the relatively unknown Prenga, who stands 6ft 5in and has a 20-1 professional record.
It’s also bound to be another step towards a major revival for Joshua, who has lost four of his 32 fights and has not beaten a top boxer since defeating Otto Wallin in 2023, following which Daniel Dubois knocked him out in 2024.
Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk (twice) have also defeated Joshua, whose recent victories were from ‘exhibition bouts’ against Jake Paul and Francis Ngannou, but the London 2012 Olympics gold medalist insists he is still good enough.
“It is no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring on that journey. I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25th in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off. As I said, the landlord will collect his rent. That is certain,” said Joshua, who recently flew out to Egypt in support of his new training partner, Oleksandr Usyk.
