Nigerian-British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua will face Albania’s Kristian Prenga in a comeback bout following a tragic accident in Nigeria late last year that claimed the lives of his friends Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele. 

An announcement by the 36-year-old on Monday confirmed that the fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 25. It will be the boxer’s first appearance in the ring since his fight against Jake Paul on December 19. 

Ten days after the fight with Paul, Joshua and his friends were involved in a car crash while travelling to Ogun State. 

“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 25th 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,” Joshua said after the contract for the fight was signed. 

In his own remarks, Prenga praised Joshua as a great fighter but vowed to beat the two-time unified heavyweight champion and disrupt his comeback plans. 

“Anthony Joshua is a great fighter, but he made a terrible miscalculation in picking me as his opponent. This is the kind of fight that changes everything in my life and his. I know they have big plans ahead after this fight.

“I know they are overlooking me. I’m happy about that. I will derail their plans and shock the world this July in Saudi Arabia,” the 35-year-old said. 

Meanwhile, Joshua is expected to face fellow former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a long-awaited showdown in the fourth quarter of this year, according to multiple reports.

Joshua’s boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, posted on social media on Monday that the arguably most-anticipated fight in recent years was “signed, sealed and delivered”.