Tyson Fury has delivered a damning verdict on Anthony Joshua’s next opponent, fully expecting his domestic rival to take care of business.

The two Brits are expected to collide later this year or early next year, although nothing has been confirmed regarding a specific date or location.

However, it looks like their long-awaited fight is finally close to happening, provided both men win their warm-up fights.

Despite the descent from A unanimous decision victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, Fury expressed his desire to enter another interim fight in August.

However, this seemingly remains uncertain as an official announcement is yet to be made and Joshua at least has a confirmed assignment to prepare for.

On July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the 36-year-old will face the little-known Kristian Prenga in the heavyweight divisionentering his first fight since stopping Jake Paul in the sixth round in December.

While Prenga isn’t the most hazardous opponent, Joshua was never one to take risks before facing Fury – especially after he was involved in a tragic car crash that killed two of his closest friends.

Realizing this, Fury simply dismissed Prenga and described him as little more than a part-time brawler when asked what he knew about the Albanian heavyweight. Professional boxing fans.

– I think he’s the doorman, right?

While no opponent has been confirmed, 41-year-old Nelson Hysa is rumored to be a potential option for Fury, who is perhaps more credible than ‘The Doorman’ but probably doesn’t pose much more of a threat than Prenga.

Filip Hrgovic will make his fifth straight British heavyweight fight in August, hoping to put an end to Moses Itauma’s meteoric rise. Before the competition, his newest opponent, Dave Allen, assessed the power of his punch.

In June 2024, Hrgovic suffered the first defeat of his professional career when he was stopped by Daniel Dubois in a fight for the interim IBF heavyweight title. This defeat ultimately cost the Croatian his historic world title win, and Dubois was promoted to full world heavyweight champion shortly thereafter.

However, despite this heartache, Hrgovic picked himself up and dusted himself off, claiming three victories over alternative British opponents; Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Allen to fight for the world title again.

This summer, however, the Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist will be the underdog against the adolescent Itauma, who faces a long reign at the top of the division as Hrgovic tries a cruel taste of reality for boxing’s hottest prospect.

After the fight was announced, Allen told his social media supporters that despite a third-round loss to the Croatian last monthJohnny Fisher is a bigger puncher.

“Johnny Fisher hits harder, but he doesn’t have the same efficiency and experience.

“Johnny Fisher hits really tough and harder than Hrgovic, but that’s just experience, really, Hrgovic has a lot of experience. He’s really good, Filip, to be fair to him, but Johnny Fisher hits harder.”

Fisher was unable to defeat Allen in two fights, with the “Romford Bull” taking a controversial split decision in the first meeting before Allen gained revenge via fifth-round KO in the rematch.

The Itauma-Hrgovic gala will take place on Saturday, August 29 at the O2 Arena, and the winner will hope to fight for the world title in the next fight.

Most observers see unified junior middleweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis as the clear favorite ahead of his June 27 bout with Xander Zayas.

But at least one analyst is starting to see this fight differently.

“Maybe I’m starting to buy into the idea that Zayas might have a better chance than most people are giving him,” Chris Mannix said on DAZN’s Beyond The Bell.

Mannix also revealed that confidence in Zayas’ camp is growing as the fight gets closer.

“When I talk to people in his camp, they say he’s having the best camp he’s ever had, that he’s as motivated as ever. He hears all the doubters. He sees all the activity on social media,” Chris said.

Former world champion Sergio Mora agreed that Zayas brings a unique challenge to the fight, pointing to his size advantage over Ennis.

“He’s naturally a bigger fighter. He’s going to pressure Boots. We saw Boots get hit,” Mora said. “Can he take hits from a bigger fighter like Xander Zayas, who is just confident?”

Zayas enters the fight as a junior middleweight with a long career, while Ennis is preparing for just his second appearance at 154 pounds after moving up from welterweight earlier this year. Although Ennis remains the bookmakers’ favorite, this fight has become one of the most anticipated fights of this summer.

The winner will leave Brooklyn with Ennis’ unified WBA and WBC junior middleweight titles and take an vital step towards becoming a top attraction in the division.

Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most vital fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.

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Last updated: 22/06/2026 at 3:53