Anthony Joshua Fights Kristian Prenga in Jeddah Heavyweight Main Event

Anthony Joshua and Kristian Prenga Meet in Jeddah Main Event

British heavyweight Anthony Joshua brings a 29-4-0 record into the ring for Saturday’s showdown against Albanian power specialist Kristian Prenga, who enters with a 20-1-0 mark. The main event takes place at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with coverage and prelims beginning at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. ET/2:52 p.m. PT. Radio commentary from Jeddah begins from about 20:30 BST on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport website and app, while live text commentary begins at 19:30 on the BBC Sport website and app.

For Joshua, the bout marks a return seven months away from the ring since defeating and humiliating Jake Paul. The 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and former Heavyweight Champion has won 29 fights – 26 by stoppage – and lost four, combining various punching techniques with power to win matches. Prenga enters the fight with an impressive record of his own, having achieved all of his 20 victories with stoppages while suffering only one defeat. However, the 35-year-old has never faced anyone close to Joshua’s level. Kristian Prenga is a pure power specialist who has the attack and smarts to beat Joshua in a knockout, whereas Joshua enters the ring following a car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.

Championship Undercard Results From Saudi Arabia

The supporting card features two high-stakes title fights alongside a packed lineup of preliminary action. In the super middleweight division, Hamzah Sheeraz defended the WBO Super Middleweight title by defeating Simon Zachenhuber by majority decision with judges scoring the bout 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112. DraftKings Network provides live results, round-by-round updates, unofficial scorecards, highlights, and the official winner throughout the card.

Josh Kelly successfully defended the IBF Super Welterweight title by putting the belt on the line and defeating Caoimhin Agyarko via unanimous decision, with judges scoring the fight 114-113, 115-112, and 115-112. Additional preliminary bouts on the fight card included a Super Featherweight matchup where Reito Tsutsumi secured a TKO against Alvino Herrera in Round 2, a Middleweight bout where Jacob Bank took a unanimous decision over Pawel August with scores of 80-72 across all three judges, and a Super Welterweight clash where Nishant Dev stopped Cesar Diaz via TKO in Round 1. Other preliminary results featured Oleksandr Khyzniak defeating Lenny Patrach by TKO in Round 2, Ziyad Almaayouf defeating Frank Mango by unanimous decision (78-71, 77-72, 77-72), Mikie Tallon defeating Orlando Pino by TKO in Round 1, Mohammed Alakel defeating Lydon Chircop by TKO in Round 5, Sultan Almohammed defeating Efren Besalduch by TKO in Round 3, Omar Hikal defeating Brian Castellano by unanimous decision (40-35, 40-35, 40-35), and Mohamed Moubarak defeating Bryan Zapata by unanimous decision (39-37, 40-36, 40-36).

Anthony Joshua to Face Kristian Prenga in Jeddah on July 25

Streaming Access and Pay-Per-View Pricing

Fans looking to stream the action live can access the event through DAZN as a pay-per-view live boxing event priced at $59.99. Viewers who are not subscribers can sign up for DAZN’s “Ultimate Tier” plan for just $49.99/month to get access to this PPV event, as well as 11 other PPV events throughout the year at no extra extra cost as a flat monthly subscription price, providing access to more than 100 live fights all year long, fight replays, highlights, and documentaries. DAZN is the home to global sports, including FIFA, BKFC, National League, UEFA Women’s Championship League, ERC and WRC racing, Riyadh Season boxing, NFL Game Pass International, and other American and international sports leagues.

Coverage for the event began with prelims at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Stakes for the Heavyweight Division

A victory for Joshua carries immediate implications, as it would set up a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury and bring the winner one step closer to a heavyweight title shot against current-champion Tyson Fury. The Fury-Joshua fight has been a decade in the making, with contracts having already been signed and the blockbuster bout expected to take place later this year. This follows after Tyson Fury comfortably dispatched Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday, leaving Prenga attempting to pull off a huge shock and go down in boxing history as the man who got in the way of Joshua-Fury happening.