Viddal Riley reveals why Kristian Prenga is the ‘PERFECT’ comeback opponent for Anthony Joshua ahead of Tyson Fury fight

ANTHONY JOSHUA has got himself the “perfect” comeback opponent in Kristian Prenga. AJ returns to the ring on Saturday night against little-known 20-1 Albanian Prenga – who has won all of his bouts by KO. Viddal Riley on SunSport’s No Glove Lost episode Credit: sunsport Anthony Joshua’s comeback opponent Kristian Prenga Credit: Alamy It looks to be the final hurdle before AJ finally takes on Tyson Fury in a Battle of Britain over a decade in the making. And European cruiserweight champion Viddal Riley reckons Joshua has got himself the perfect practise target to prepare him for Fury. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! He said on SunSport’s No Glove Lost episode: “I think AJ’s gonna have a very good performance, get the chance to show the three things that he wanted to focus on, which is improving his defence, ring IQ, and the fitness to do the 12 rounds. “That’s what he’s mentioned. he wanted to pick up from Usyk’s camp. I think Prenga’s the perfect opponent for us to see those things. “So I look forward to seeing him boxing on the weekend, and I think he’s going to have a very good performance. “Prenga, we’ve seen that he got the knockouts and whatnot, but he’s not explosive. “There’s a difference between fighters that have explosive power, fast twitch, and then there’s people that are heavy handed. “And I think anytime you’ve seen AJ have difficulties, it’s the explosive, fast handed power punches. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga - all the info Anthony Joshua faces Kristian Prenga in his huge comeback fight The Home of Boxing in 2026 There's a massive year of boxing ahead! It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring. Anthony Joshua returns to the ring in July to face Kristian Prenga ahead of a potential blockbuster bout against Tyson Fury later in the year. The Gypsy King also features in a warm-up bout the day before AJ, as he takes on Mariusz Wach in Thailand. And Moses Itauma returns for his toughest fight yet against Filip Hrgovic in August. Here’s all the big fights coming up… July Fri 24 – Tyson Fury vs Mariusz Wach Sat 25 – Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga – DAZN PPV Sun 26 – Errol Spence Jr vs Tim Tszyu August Sat 1 – Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain – DAZN Sat 15 – Claressa Shields vs Kaye Scott – DAZN Sat 29 – Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic – DAZN September Sat 12 – Conor Benn vs Ryan Garcia – DAZN *If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue. “Not the plodding, slow feet, waiting to land a big dig. You know, I don’t think Prenga, despite having the knockouts, delivers the punches in a way that’s going to affect someone as elite as AJ.” Joshua is back for just his second fight under his new coaching team led by Oleksandr Usyk’s camp. His first was a farcical Miami mismatch in December against Jake Paul, 29, which ended in six rounds and a shattered jaw for the YouTuber-turned-boxer. But ten days later, AJ was involved in a car crash in Nigeria which he survived but claimed the lives of his two close friends and camp members Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami. Joshua took time out of the ring to recover from the injuries he sustained and mourn the loss of his fallen brothers. But now he is back and already has a super-fight with Fury pencilled in for the end of the year. Fury, 37, himself returns just one day before AJ when he takes on 46-year-old Pole Mariusz Wach in Thailand. The Gypsy King will be expected to jet over to Jeddah and confront AJ in the ring – but Riley warned Joshua to put that to the back of his mind. He said: “Every boxer knows there’s no fight more important than the one in front of you. Like, you know that. “He’s had his career at the highest level for many years. There’s always been, ‘Listen, you win this one, we’re gonna take over America.’ You win this one, you can unify. You win this one, there’s a stadium fight.’ “He’s lived with this pressure of, if you win, if you win, if you win, if you win. So this is not any different. “This is not any different to the state, where he’s been in his career for many years. “There’s always a big prize on the other side of winning, whether that’s in the ring or whether that’s because of a sponsorship or whether that’s because of whatever. “He’s always had to deal with, ‘If you win, mate, we got something big for you.’ This is no different.” Comment now