Kristian Prenga’s boxing hero is an English fighter who turned heavyweight world champion a long time earlier than the Albanian’s opponent on Saturday, Anthony Joshua.
Lennox Lewis is Prenga’s chief inspiration and as soon as spoke to him on FaceTime, in response to the ten/1 lengthy shot towards the fighter often called AJ.
Ought to Prenga pull off a shock, he would catapult himself into rivalry to turn out to be one among Lewis and Joshua’s successors as celebrated titlists.
Right here’s a have a look at Prenga’s boxing file, what he has mentioned concerning the combat and the important thing particulars on his bout with Joshua.
Kristian Prenga file: Boxing knockout artist
A debutant in Munich in 2016, Prenga received his first 4 fights, all of which had been held in Germany.
Prenga’s subsequent contest was his solely defeat, dropping on factors to Giovanni Auriemma in an eight-rounder within the Netherlands, the place he spent two years sparring with kickboxers.
He then received 5 fights in Canada and one in Colombia earlier than his present 10-bout victorious streak, with all of these going down within the US.
Solely two of Prenga’s fights have gone previous the fourth spherical, knocking out his opponents within the first spherical on seven events, together with every of his final three.
| Wins (KOs) | Defeats (KOs) |
| 20 (20) | 1 (0) |
Kristian Prenga vs Anthony Joshua: What Prenga says
“I’ve labored all my life for this,” mirrored the 35-year-old, who credit his father for his early boxing coaching, in addition to instilling in him the “mentality” and “self-discipline” required to achieve the game.
“I’ve waited all my life for this and I hope I’m going to point out the world [that].
“Each boxer has his weaknesses and faults within the ring, irrespective of who you’re. I’ve seen every little thing.
“I respect Anthony Joshua very a lot; I grew up watching all his fights. I’ve seen his weaknesses and what he does finest. I’ll present precisely what I’ve paid consideration to.”
Prenga vs Joshua: Boxing combat ‘manifested’
Prenga’s coach, Sammy Lushaj, revealed how he met his fighter nearly six years in the past.
“He walked right into a fitness center the place I used to be figuring out,” Lushaj instructed DAZN. “That’s how we really met.
“I used to be carrying an Albanian jersey with the flag and he noticed me. He walked away from everyone else and got here and mentioned whats up.
“I used to be like ‘Whoa, it’s Kristian Prenga’. We saved in contact and we’ve been pals ever since.
“He’s like a bit brother to me – I’ve been there with him for each combat, a lot of the coaching periods and the entire camps.”
Lushaj says Prenga had a premonition he would face Joshua. “During the last couple of years, we’d discuss fights and stuff and he’d be like ‘I’m going to combat AJ’,” he defined.
“I used to be like ‘alright’. He saved bringing it up, again and again. Then when he obtained that decision, I used to be with him and we had been coming to coach.
“I used to be like ‘actually?’ He simply manifested it, I suppose.”
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga: ‘An actual problem’
Joshua has known as Prenga “very harmful” and “an excellent fighter”.
“I consider it, I do know it, I’ve studied it and I’m prepared for it,” mentioned the 36-year-old, who has a file of 29 wins and 4 defeats.
“We selected Kristian Prenga for a purpose,” declared promoter Eddie Hearn. “He’s an actual problem.
“He’s obtained a rustic behind him and a possibility to vary his life. He will get to swim with the large boys and we get to seek out out if he wants armbands or not.
“If he doesn’t, it’s going to be an actual combat. If he does, it’s going to be over in a short time.”
When is Kristian Prenga combating Anthony Joshua? Battle date
The occasion will happen on Saturday, July 25 2026 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga begin time
The combat is predicted to begin at round 23:00 BST on Saturday. Right here’s how that interprets in several territories.
| Date | BST | ET | PT |
| Sat, July 25 | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
The place to look at Joshua vs Prenga: TV channel
The combat is completely stay on DAZN pay-per-view. The published begins at 18:00 BST (13:00 ET / 10:00 PT)
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga stay stream: Watch combat on-line
Followers can watch on an unlimited number of gadgets and on the transfer through the use of DAZN’s devoted app.
Joshua vs Prenga: How a lot does DAZN price?
Followers should purchase the combat as a one-off pay-per-view that may also embody an eight-day free trial of DAZN to incorporate Pierce O’Leary’s combat towards Mark Chamberlain on August 1 for UK and US patrons.
US and Canada clients who buy the one-off pay-per-view will be capable to watch Lamont Roach Jr’s bout with William Zepeda on August 1.
Alternatively, viewers should purchase DAZN’s Final Tier subscription bundle, which features a minimal of 12 pay-per-view fights a yr together with Joshua vs. Prenga, in addition to 185 common combat nights.
Right here’s how a lot every bundle prices.
| PPV | Final Tier | |
| UK | £19.99 (one-off) | £24.99 (month-to-month) |
| US | $59.99 (one-off) | $44.99 (month-to-month) |
Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga undercard: Full record of fights
There are 5 undercard fights:
- Hamzah Sheeraz vs Simon Zachenhuber
- Josh Kelly vs Caoimhin Agyarko
- Reito Tsutsumi vs Alvino Herrera
- Jacob Financial institution vs Pawel August
- Nishant Dev vs Cesar Diaz
Listed below are the approximate occasions when every bout is scheduled to begin in several territories.
| Battle | UK time | ET time | PT time |
| Joshua vs Prenga | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
| Sheeraz vs Zachenhuber | 21:40 | 16:40 | 13:40 |
| Kelly vs Agyarko | 20:37 | 15:37 | 12:37 |
| Tsutsumi vs Herrera | 19:43 | 14:43 | 11:43 |
| Financial institution vs August | 18:56 | 13:56 | 10:56 |
| Dev vs Diaz | 18:10 | 13:10 | 10:10 |
Anthony Joshua subsequent combat: Tyson Fury awaits
Joshua dismissed questions on fellow former world champion Fury however is predicted to fulfill the Mancunian later this yr if each fighters win this week.
Fury, 37, faces 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday, with studies suggesting the fighter often called ‘The Gypsy King’ will then journey to Jeddah to look at Joshua.
“We don’t need to discuss Tyson Fury,” Joshua mentioned, emphasising his want for “focus” on knockout artist Prenga, an Albanian who’s but to come across a fighter of Joshua’s pedigree.
“Respectfully, I’ve achieved all of the media I can about what the long run holds. Let’s concentrate on the job.”
Picture: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
