Boxing
Hearn expects 'spiteful' Joshua to demolish Prenga before Fury stoppage
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Eddie Hearn is backing Anthony Joshua to demolish Kristian Prenga in a summer sizzler before closing out the year in spectacular fashion by knocking out Tyson Fury.
Joshua, 36, returns to the ring on July 25 for the first time since breaking Jake Paul’s jaw inside six explosive rounds in Miami last December.
Just days after stopping Paul, the former two-time unified world heavyweight champ was involved in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his closest friends.
Understandably, the road back has been a difficult one and Hearn believes Prenga will find himself between the ropes with a boxer driven by pain, emotion and a burning desire to return to the top.
Asked what version of AJ he expects to see at the Jeddah Superdome, the Matchroom Boxing supremo told DAZN News: “A spiteful one. He wants to go in and do a job.
“There's been a lot happening in his life but he's got demolition on his mind. This is the first time I've heard him talking about the future, rather than just one fight.
“He's in a great place with his boxing, a great place in camp, and I think he just wants to get back in the ring.
“He had the Paul fight and was on a good buzz afterwards. Then obviously there was the devastating crash.
“I think he's carried a lot of that pain into this training camp. There will be a lot of emotion and a lot of that pain coming out on July 25.”
With a money-spinning blockbuster against Fury signed and sealed, Hearn knows Joshua cannot afford to put a foot wrong when he collides with Prenga.
The Albanian, 35, suffered his only defeat early in his career and has secured each of his 20 victories via knockout.
Assuming Joshua comes through unscathed, all eyes will then turn to Fury’s bout with an as yet unnamed opponent on August 1.
Hearn added: “If it does [go wrong] it's devastating, because everything's pretty much over. I mean, you could come back and rematch Prenga but the Fury fight's done.
“If Prenga wins, he's making millions, so you're fighting someone that's going to be a little bit better than they would normally.
“They'll be training a little bit harder, there's a little bit more at stake, there's more on the line. And he's not a bad fighter.
“He’s not going to be easy but I fancy AJ to do a job on him. And I've always believed that AJ knocks Fury out.
“When I sat there ringside, and I know Fury had been out for a year, and I watched that [Arslanbek] Makhmudov fight, I've never been more confident that AJ wins by knockout.
“It's signed on both ends, so all we've got to do is win. And Fury’s got to win on August 1.
“I mean, it's a little bit of squeaky bum time. But that's alright, because if they can't beat these guys, they shouldn't be in against each other anyway.
“All we've got to do is win. And then if it's not Fury, maybe he fights for the world title, or maybe he fights someone else.
“But the deal is done, it's the biggest fight in boxing. Both guys come through their respective final challenges and we're all good.”
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