JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — July 24, 2026 — Anthony Joshua steps back into a boxing ring this Saturday for the first time since surviving a car crash that killed two of his close friends, taking on largely untested Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in a Jeddah Superdome main event billed as “The Comeback.” Fight fans who don’t want to pay for the pay-per-view broadcast will still get a substantial taste of the night for free, with the undercard preliminary bouts streaming live and at no cost on YouTube before the main card begins.
Joshua’s return carries weight beyond the win-loss column. The two-time former unified heavyweight champion has not fought since a six-round stoppage of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul last December, a victory that left Paul with a broken jaw. Ten days later, Joshua was involved in a fatal road accident in Nigeria that took the lives of two members of his team, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele. Saturday marks his first appearance in the ring since that loss, and much of fight week has centered on how the 36-year-old Briton copes with it as he tries to rebuild momentum toward a long-rumored showdown with Tyson Fury.
That Fury fight is the real target. Joshua’s promoters have positioned Prenga as a tune-up on the road to a proposed all-British heavyweight clash, tentatively expected in the fall, with a November date at Wembley Stadium in the mix. Fury himself is in action a night earlier, facing Mariusz Wach in Thailand, meaning both former champions will have fought within 24 hours of each other heading into their anticipated meeting.
Prenga arrives as something of an unknown quantity to casual fans. The 6-foot-5 Albanian carries a 20-1 record with every one of his 20 wins coming by knockout — seven of them inside the first round — though he has yet to face an opponent of Joshua’s caliber. His only defeat came on points in just the fifth fight of his career. At Friday’s weigh-in, Prenga tipped the scales at 261.4 pounds, roughly ten pounds heavier than Joshua, who came in at 251 — his heaviest fight weight in years as he looks to add power against a naturally bigger opponent.
For Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs), the assignment looks straightforward on paper. But after a career that has included shock losses to Andy Ruiz Jr. and Daniel Dubois, few in boxing are willing to write off the threat of Prenga’s one-punch power entirely.
Joshua vs. Prenga headlines a 13-bout card at the Jeddah Superdome that also features two world title defenses. Hamzah Sheeraz puts his WBO super-middleweight title on the line against Simon Zachenhuber, while Josh Kelly defends his IBF super-welterweight championship against Caoimhin Agyarko. Also on the bill: Reito Tsutsumi vs. Alvino Herrera Meza, Jacob Bank vs. Pawel August, Nishant Dev vs. Cesar Diaz, and Oleksandr Khyzhniak vs. Lenny Patrach, among other bouts.
How to Watch — PPV Main Card, Free Prelims on YouTube
The main card, including the Joshua-Prenga headliner and both title fights, airs exclusively on DAZN pay-per-view. In the United States, the broadcast costs $59.99; in the United Kingdom, it’s priced at £19.99. Fans who plan to watch multiple PPV cards throughout the year can also access the event through DAZN’s Ultimate tier subscription, which bundles at least a dozen major pay-per-view events with the platform’s regular library.
The main card is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. BST, with the Joshua-Prenga ring walks expected around 5:52 p.m. ET / 10:52 p.m. BST.
Ahead of the paid broadcast, DAZN and promoter Matchroom Boxing will stream the night’s preliminary bouts live and free of charge on the DAZN Boxing and Matchroom Boxing YouTube channels, continuing a format the promotion has used for other recent cards. The free prelims coverage is set to begin at approximately 9 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. BST, giving fans a no-cost window to watch the undercard action build before the pay-per-view portion of the show takes over.
With Joshua fighting for the first time since personal tragedy, and a Fury blockbuster looming on the other side of Saturday night, Jeddah is set to host one of the more emotionally charged heavyweight cards of the year.
