Boxing
Joshua made big change to future plans ahead of Prenga fight reveals Hearn
Joshua vs. Prenga: Only on DAZN PPV - Saturday
Anthony Joshua is set to stay boxing for longer than initially expected according to Barry Hearn.
Hearn's son Eddie has been Joshua's promoter ever since he turned professional in 2013, has guided him to two world heavyweight title triumphs, and as a result has become one of the biggest names in sport.
The Olympic gold medallist is now preparing for one last charge at glory in the heavyweight division, and it starts on Saturday night when he faces Kristian Prenga live on DAZN PPV and Ultimate Tier.
In addition to a bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion, Joshua is set to finally take on British rival Tyson Fury later this year, as long as he gets past Prenga.
Joshua to fight for at least three more years, not one
Last year, it felt like the curtain was slowly coming down on Joshua's career.
Everything was being steered towards facing Fury and then sailing off into the sunset.
However, in December, Joshua was involved in a tragic car accident in Nigeria which saw him lose two of his closest friends who were also members of his training team.
According to Hearn, this accident has inspired Joshua to keep boxing and to stay in the sport for a few more years.
"[AJ] is an amazing place at the moment. Obviously I’ve seen him since 2012, we got very close. He’s like a member of our family really," Hearn told Sky Sports.
"I don’t think I’ve seen him so motivated for the long term.
"As I say, some of that has been fueled by that tragic accident, but he’s now talking about the next three years in the ring. It was a year ago we were talking about potentially two fights and then go off to a happy retirement.
"He’s very motivated, he feels good about himself, but boxing is a funny sport. It takes one decent punch from a big lad to knock out anyone in the world."
At the age of 36, Joshua needs to be managed carefully when it comes to his durability if he is to continue boxing for at least three years, and he is hoping the recent link-up with the training team of Oleksandr Usyk will help him on this journey.
This training team have helped shape Usyk into one of the great pound-for-pound fighters at 39 years old, and they will be looking to have the same effect on Joshua.
Joshua vs. Prenga - exclusively on DAZN PPV
Watch Anthony Joshua versus Kristian Prenga on Saturday, July 25, as part of a huge 24 hours of boxing on DAZN PPV.
Buy as a one-off PPV or included along with Spence Jr. vs. Tszyu on the same night, and Moses Itauma vs. Hrgovic (Aug 29) and Canelo vs. Mbilli (Oct) PPVs, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.
