Boxer Anthony Joshua set for comeback fight after car accident

British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua will return to boxing in a comeback bout on July 25 in Saudi Arabia.

The former unified world champion will fight Albania’s Kristian Prenga in Riyadh this summer.

It will be Joshua’s first contest since returning to training after a car accident in Nigeria in December, which saw two of his close friends die.

The official announcement of AJ’s comeback fight was accompanied by confirmation from promoters Turki Alashikh and Eddie Hearn that Joshua will finally fight his great rival, Tyson Fury, later this year.

Joshua said: “It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring, and today is the next step on that journey. I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25 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.”

Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh had already turbo-charged speculation on Monday that the fight between Joshua and Fury had been agreed when he posted on social media: “To my friends in Great Britain. It’s happening, it’s signed.”

Joshua is an Olympic champion from London 2012 and a two-time heavyweight champion in the professional ranks.

He has 29 wins, 26 by KO, and four defeats, two by KO, in his career.

He won the IBF heavyweight title in 2016 with a second-round knockout of Charles Martin and went on to add the WBA, WBO, and IBO belts before losing them in a shock seventh-round stoppage defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.

He won back his belts in an immediate rematch six months later but lost them to former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2021.

He has had two more heavyweight title fights since then, losing a rematch to Usyk in 2022 and losing to fellow Britain Daniel Dubois by fifth round KO for the IBF title in 2024.