By actively demanding complete disrespect from Prenga, Joshua is attempting to create an artificial sense of threat. He needs a reason to feel threatened. He’s practically begging Prenga to create a hostile environment because the friction alone will get his adrenaline pumping and force him to take the threat seriously.

This is a psychological tactic of masking the reality of the situation. If he can convince himself that this is a bitter, personal grudge rather than a routine victory meant to lead to a signature Tyson Fury hit, he can motivate himself to do grueling road work and stay locked up during camp.

When you’re a multiple-time heavyweight champion and you’re looking across the stage at someone who is essentially a club fighter who was brought in to provide a safe and sound option for recovery from massive trauma, it’s incredibly hard to find that true competitive fire.

The reality of this matchup is standard matchmaking practice aimed at reclaiming a major asset in the win column, but Joshua cannot afford to treat this like a sparring session. If he goes in there calmly and does all the things, then there will be great upset.

Prenga looked absolutely stunned today, standing next to a guy who has been selling out stadiums for a decade. It’s strenuous to play the role of a menacing, disrespectful villain when your eyes are as large as saucers and staring at the platform you’ve been given.

This is the loophole in Joshua’s plan. You can try to goad your opponent all you want, but if the guy on the other side of the stage is basically cheerful to be given the opportunity and the paycheck, you can’t force him to show real, genuine malice.

Prengi’s manager may utter fine promotional phrases about miscalculations and grave digging, but when the players look into each other’s eyes, the real active is revealed. Prenga looked like a guy who won the lottery, not a guy who wanted to start a war.

This puts Joshua in a hard position for the next two months of camp. If Prenga doesn’t give him the hostile energy he’s looking for, Joshua will have to find another way to motivate himself to get out of first gear on July 25.

These concerns were greatly heightened on May 23 when Frank Sanchez stopped Torrez in two rounds at the Pyramids of Giza. The fight was over almost before it started. Sanchez looked bigger, stronger and more comfortable at the level Torrez is trying to achieve. This was Torrez’s first time facing a true top contender, and the difference was obvious.

Top Rank now faces a decision that every promotional company ultimately must make. Promoters invest in fighters because they believe those fighters can become contenders, champions, attractions, or all three. When the evidence begins to point in a different direction, the calculations quickly change.

The easiest path would be to rebuild Torrez against a series of carefully selected opponents. He could win four or five fights in a row and return to the top of the rankings. His record will improve and his confidence may return. The more significant question is whether anyone will learn anything up-to-date from this process.

Fans have already seen his struggles with Vianello. They saw Sanchez stop him in two rounds. Beating a group of journeymen and second-rate heavyweights would fix the numbers next to his name, but it wouldn’t answer the questions that now follow him.

Another issue is time. Oleksandr Usyk is approaching retirement, Tyson Fury is 37 years venerable and Anthony Joshua is approaching the final stages of his career. The heavyweight stars who generate the biggest paydays could be gone before Torrez completes a long rebuild.

This reality means that more and more attention is being paid to the next generation. Moses Itauma could eventually become the main attraction, and a future fight with Torrez could have value if both remain relevant. Torrez can’t reach this stage by beating overworked opponents for the next two years. He would need significant wins over legitimate challengers before fans or broadcasters would take such a fight seriously.

The brutal reality is that Top Rank may soon have to decide whether Torrez is a contender worth investing in or simply a heavyweight whose level is above his. Fans have already seen warning signs after both Vianello and Sanchez’s fights, and rebuilding the record is easier than rebuilding faith.

If Top Rank concludes that Torrez cannot beat good heavyweights, boxing history suggests there is only one outcome. Promotional companies looking to get ahead rarely invest in fighters they no longer view as future contenders. At some point, they redirect their resources elsewhere and focus on prospects with a clearer path to the top.

I wish you a very joyful birthday #HighestRank Olympic silver medalist in the heavyweight and Olympic categories @RichardTorrez21 💪 pic.twitter.com/aSQQrgQLFe

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) June 1, 2026

Following his impressive win over Juno Nakatani, Naoya Inoue is being linked to a fight with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, and fellow pound-for-pound title challenger Shakur Stevenson has shared his predictions for the proposed fight.

Inoue defended his undisputed super bantamweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Nakatani a month ago at the Tokyo Dome, which cemented his claim to the number one spot in the super bantamweight division, especially after Oleksandr Usyk’s close shave against Rico Verhoeven.

After the Japanese star cleared out the 122-pound division, fight fans are now discussing the prospect of facing unified super flyweight champion Rodriguez before his planned move up to featherweight.

I’m talking to Boxing in the match roomWBO super-lightweight champion Stevenson believes “Bam” could prove to be Inoue’s “Kryptonite,” pointing out that Inoue was knocked down by left-hander Luis Nery and that Rodriguez, who is also a southpaw, has the power to knock the undefeated feeling to its knees.

“I like Bam, I can’t fight Bam. I know Bam, Bam is my guy. I think Inoue is a great fighter, but I think Bam might be his Kryptonite.

“I saw him [Inoue] get dropped by the southpaw and I think Bam hits so tough he could drop him too.”

Rodriguez is already ready to move up from super flyweight when next weekend at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, he will fight for the WBA bantamweight world title of Antonio Vargas. It is believed that if he succeeds, the undefeated American will subsequently demand an attack on Inoue and move up one more league to make it happen.

Promoter Eddie Hearn said preliminary talks have taken place and that his man Rodriguez is more than willing to travel to Japan for the fight.