Fight on Joshua-Prenga undercard approved as mandatory title defence.
On Saturday night–a mere two sleeps away–we will see the return of Anthony Joshua, one of the biggest, most popular, and most lucrative names in the world of boxing today.
He will be facing Kristian Prenga, a puncher from Albania who a lot of pugilistic fans know purely because of his involvement in this fight.
However, the profile of Joshua’s opponent is ultimately second to what this fight is expected to lead to: Tyson Fury, the showdown that everyone in the sport has been longing for for a number of years now.
The two are expected to collide in a North vs. South battle of Britain in November of this year, but only if they both get past their respective warm-up bouts first.
While Joshua will be fighting Prenga, Fury will be fighting Mariusz Wach tomorrow. And should they both emerge victorious, they should be all set to lock horns at long last.
As far as the events themselves go, though, Joshua’s is of a much higher profile. While Fury’s is a low-capacity charity event in Thailand, Joshua’s is a Saudi Arabia event promoted by Turki Alalshikh.
As a result, the fights on the Joshua vs. Prenga undercard are of a more significant level, with two separate world title fights as part of the bill.
One of these is Hamzah Sheeraz’s first defence of his WBO super-middleweight title against Simon Zachenhuber, which serves as the co-main event.
The other is Josh Kelly’s first defence of his IBF super-welterweight title against Caoimhin Agyarko. And two days out from fight night, the IBF have approved Kelly vs. Agyarko as a mandatory defence.
Because of this, the winner of the bout is expected to be free to go on to appear in a unification fight against two-belt champion Jaron Ennis.
🚨 KELLY-AGYARKO IS A MANDATORY DEFENSE
✅ The IBF has approved Josh Kelly’s super welterweight title fight with Caoimhin Agyarko this Saturday in Jeddah as a mandatory defense.
👀 This should free the winner to pursue a 3-belt unification with Jaron “Boots” Ennis next. pic.twitter.com/RqacKViKNA
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) July 23, 2026
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