Anthony Joshua and Kristian Prenga came face to face for the first time at a press conference in London on Monday, during which organizers confirmed that the heavyweight fight, which will take place on July 25, has been moved to Saudi Arabia. The fight, originally announced for Riyadh, will now take place at the Jeddah Superdome and will be broadcast worldwide on DAZN.

No reason for the change was given during the event. The card was loosely related to the Esports World Cup, which had recently been moved from Riyadh to Paris due to the conflict in the Middle East, according to The Independent.. Jeddah is approximately 950 kilometers from Riyadh. Joshua has fought in both cities, including suffering a rematch loss to Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah in 2022 and beating Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou in Riyad.

HE Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and president of the Saudi Boxing Federation, said the fight has attracted increasing global interest since its announcement, pointing to the “increasing global interest in events hosted by the Kingdom.” The card is titled “The Comeback” and is presented as part of Jeddah Calendar in collaboration with Riyadh Season.

The fight will be Joshua’s first appearance since December, when he defeated Jake Paul in six rounds in Miami. About ten days after this fight, Joshua survived a car accident in Nigeria that killed two members of his team, strength coach Sina Ghami and coach Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

Joshua (29-4, 26 KO), 36, enters with a clear advantage of experience. Prenga (20-1, 20 KO), a 35-year-old Albanian based in Englewood, Fresh Jersey, turned professional in 2016 and has stopped every opponent he has defeated.

Joshua concentrates

Joshua started by thanking Alalshikh for taking the fight and said he was focused on one goal. “I have a clear goal and I fully understand the challenge ahead of me,” he said, adding that he believes he is in the best possible shape ahead of the competition. “On July 25, the best man will win.”

He described boxing as “both my profession and my passion” and said working at the camp made him stronger. The fight is widely seen as a build-up to a contracted fight with Tyson Fury later this year, with reports indicating it will take place at Wembley Stadium in October or November. Fury is planning his own warm-up event in August and has said he would like the show to take place in Dublin.

Prenga seizes the opportunity

Prenga, who had never fought in a main event of this magnitude, adopted a respectful tone. “I have great respect for Anthony Joshua and everything he has achieved in boxing,” he said, calling Joshua a “great fighter.” He then referred to the fight as his window. “Everyone has their moment and I believe this is mine,” he said, adding that he had “never trained with this level of focus and determination before.” He vowed to deliver a “statement performance that will surprise the world” in Jeddah on July 25.

Hearn announces return

Promoter Eddie Hearn used the launch event to present Joshua’s return in both a personal and professional context, set against the deaths of his team-mates and his recovery from the accident. “Boxing is his purpose, boxing is his peace,” Hearn said, describing a fighter he believes is more determined and focused than at any previous stage of his career. He called the comeback one of the biggest comebacks in the sport, warning that Prenga has the power to derail the anticipated fight with Fury.

“Great win against Zurdo. Something I didn’t expect,” Billam-Smith told Ring Magazine.

“I thought Zurdo would beat him. I thought he had more size and good timing. I thought the smaller gloves would support him more than Benavidez, but Benavidez obviously had more power and kept the speed. So a good performance.”

Benavidez’s victory over Ramirez sparked a debate about the future of the unified cruiserweight champion, including whether he would eventually be able to move up again.

Asked if Benavidez could fight at heavyweight, Billam-Smith said he believed the Mexican star could be successful there.

“He could do it,” Billam-Smith said. “And I’ll probably win a lot of fights, mostly on points, I guess, just because the size would be too substantial.”

At the same time, Billam-Smith noted the challenges of competing with the biggest competitors in the division.

“You look at the photos Wardley took that night and things like that,” Billam-Smith said.

Billam-Smith is preparing for his fight with Ryan Rozicki on June 6, but the former WBO cruiserweight champion made it clear he was impressed with what Benavidez did against Ramirez.

It is unclear whether Benavidez will ultimately decide to move up to heavyweight. For now, his victory over Ramirez continues to spark debate about his place among boxing’s biggest names.

Emanuel Steward has always supported one man who won the fantastic fight between Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson that is still hotly debated in boxing circles.

Many consider Ali to be the greatest heavyweight of all time, while few would definitely go up against the top-ranked “Iron Mike.”

The 20-year-old Brooklyn knockout punch seemed unstoppable when he won his first world title with a stunning second-round victory over Trevor Berbick in 1986.

Even as the reigning WBC champion, Tyson’s air of invincibility showed no signs of abating until he suddenly lost to James “Buster” Douglas in 1990

The stunning 10th round stoppage is still considered one of sports’ greatest surprises, but Tyson ultimately rebuilt his career and returned to the highest level.

Like Tyson, Ali possessed razor-sharp footwork and reflexes, especially for a heavyweight, but unlike Tyson he was a much more dynamic operator in the later rounds.

This extraordinary fuel tank contributed to iconic victories over the likes of Joe Frazier and George Foreman, cementing his legacy as arguably “The Greatest.”

For this reason, given Tyson’s shortcomings from a physical and mental perspective, legendary trainer Steward could not look past Ali’s victory.

In the restored clip the all-time great coach analyzed the nuances of the pair’s rivalry.

“Mike is one of the most amazing men and I have the utmost respect for him [him]. The fact that he achieved what he did is amazing.

“Sometimes he lost, fighting large guys who were talented guys he wasn’t afraid of. He was really nothing more than a cruiserweight fighting super heavyweights.

“I think Ali would have won this fight because I thought he had too much boxing ability and physical size, and he was just an all-around general.

“When he was tired physically and mentally, [Tyson] he had problems in the later rounds. Ali actually fought better in the later rounds.”

Many would agree that Ali had the intelligence and stamina to defeat top-ranked Tyson, who Steward suggested would not have had much success in the mental war game.