Anthony Joshua has returned to full training with a new sense of purpose ahead of his July 25 comeback against unbeaten Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, with promoter Eddie Hearn describing the former unified champion's mindset as a transformation born from personal tragedy.
Speaking to DAZN, Hearn detailed how Joshua has rebuilt himself in the months since closing 2025 with a victory over Jake Paul, a fight cushioned soon after by the deaths of two of his closest friends in a car accident in Nigeria.
"It was a terrible moment for everybody and the families, and AJ needed that time to recover physically, emotionally, and mentally," Hearn said. "In the last three or four weeks, he's returned to training camp. He's physically ready to resume full training. And now the road map is set out for 2026. The fight with Prenga, July 25th, and then of course the Tyson Fury fight later in the year."
Hearn, who has worked with Joshua for 14 years, said the heavyweight is fighting with a different motivation now.
"He's fighting with the memory of his two good friends that he lost, and no one wanted his success more than those two," Hearn said. "He carries a lot of that with him in camp. He has a new meaning somewhat in terms of his training now, and he looks in a great place."
The Matchroom boss has been candid about the risk involved in matching Joshua against a heavy puncher like Prenga, who carries a 21-1 record with 20 knockouts. He has not tried to disguise the night as anything but a high-stakes tune-up.
"I think this is his absolute lottery ticket," Hearn said. "A lot of people said to me, this guy's 21 wins, 20 knockouts. So do you want someone maybe with a slightly lesser knockout percentage? But it is what it is. If you're going to beat Tyson Fury, you need to be going through people like Prenga. You want rounds, but I think it'll be difficult with the kind of bad intentions that Anthony's going to go in there with."
A central thread of Joshua's preparation has been his ringside relationship with Oleksandr Usyk, the two-time conqueror who has thrown himself into the Briton's training camp ahead of his own May 23 defence against Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza. Hearn likened the dynamic to a sporting buddy film.
"These guys are like Apollo and Rocky," Hearn said. "They're bringing each other on. The belief that Usyk and the team have in terms of what Anthony can still do in the sport has to be so good for the confidence building of Anthony Joshua. These guys are not idiots. They're absolute boxing experts. They see Joshua's work up close. They've shared the ring with him. They see his physicalities, and they believe he can go on and become world heavyweight champion again."
With Tyson Fury already calling Joshua out and Turki Alalshikh expected to confirm the venue, Hearn says the all-British showdown is wired in for late 2026.
"The venue will be decided by Turki Alalshikh. Everybody dreams about this fight taking place in the UK. We'll see — I think around November time, but we've signed, Fury's signed. Get through July 25th, and we're good to go."
For Hearn, the most striking change is in Joshua himself.
"Probably more motivated than I've ever seen him before, and I can't wait," he said. "I can't wait to see him back in the ring, get this job done, and then on to what will be the biggest fight in boxing."
