Who is Anthony Joshua fighting next? His unknown opponent revealed

Who is Anthony Joshua fighting next? Learn more about the man that not even hardcore boxing fans have heard of.

Joshua is fighting a total unknown next largely.

No one asked for the fight or called for it.

It is supposed to be his last fight before the Tyson Fury fight but who knows what will happen either of them.

Kristian Prenga is who Joshua fights next on July 25th in Saudi Arabia this summer.

Prenga is flying under the radar, and most boxing fans are like “who?”. Here are 15 lesser-known facts about Kristian Prenga that even hardcore boxing heads aren’t talking about yet: 

Background & Career

1. He’s Albanian, not Croatian or Kosovan
   Most casuals are mixing this up. Prenga is Albanian and proudly reps the flag in promos. He’s from Albania and his Instagram handle is @kristprenga.
2. His record is 20-1 with 20 KOs
   Every win is by knockout, but his one loss is what people miss. That 100% KO ratio on wins is why Matchroom calls him dangerous.
3. He’s ranked #32 in the world at heavyweight
   Despite the record, he’s not in the top 15 with any major sanctioning body yet. Fans are calling it a “tune-up” for AJ because of the ranking.
4. This is by far his biggest stage
   Prenga has never headlined on DAZN or fought in Saudi. All his bouts so far have been low-profile European cards. July 25 is his first Riyadh Season event. 

Fighting Style & Training

5. He’s a converted kickboxer
   Before boxing full-time, Prenga had an amateur kickboxing base in Albania. It shows in how he throws his lead hook — more K-1 than classic amateur boxing.
6. Southpaw power, but fights orthodox
   He’s naturally left-handed but was converted to orthodox early in his career. That gives him a sneaky left hook that opponents don’t see coming.
7. He trains out of Germany now, not Albania
   While he reps Albania, his camp for the last 3 years has been based in Düsseldorf. He spars a lot with European cruiserweights to work on speed.
8. Cardio questions
   All 20 KOs came in 6 rounds or less. He’s never been past round 6 as a pro. AJ’s camp likely sees this as a key edge if it goes late.

Outside The Ring

9. He’s only 27
   Born 1998, he’s 8 years younger than AJ, 35. Fans are using the age gap to call it a “cash grab” vs “changing of the guard”.
10. Keeps a very low social media profile
    Unlike most Riyadh Season opponents, Prenga isn’t on TikTok or doing media runs. He has <50k followers total and rarely posts training.
11. Wasn’t first choice
    The fight was announced today, but chatter in comments says fans expected Wilder or Fury. Prenga was a late replacement to keep AJ active after his car accident layoff.
12. AJ almost died 4 months ago
    Context for why this is a “tune-up”: Joshua was in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two friends. Many fans think that’s why Eddie Hearn picked a lower-risk return. 

Fight Specifics

13. Part of “Esports World Cup Fight Week”
    The Riyadh card is branded under EWC, not just a standalone Riyadh Season show. Saudi is tying boxing into esports this summer.
14. DAZN exclusive, not PPV in UK/US yet
    All the promo says “watch only on DAZN”. No word on Sky Box Office, which is why UK fans are annoyed.
15. The poster typo’d his name
    Ring Magazine’s first graphic wrote “PRENGA” in all caps, and fans thought his name was Prenga with an E. His team confirmed it’s Prenga. 

Tyson Fury wanted the AJ fight straight away after his recent win.

Obviously not the same on Joshua’s side.