Joshua and Fury pass crazy rehearsal ahead of heavyweight finale

For Joshua, his fight with Kristian Prenga was probably required as his only action since losing to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 was a basic runout against Jake Paul last December where he enjoyed a comfortable stoppage. 

Hardly the ideal preparation for the marquee fight of his career, but after seeing Fury get 10 rounds against Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, also his first fight since losing to Oleksandr Usyk twice in 2024, Joshua decided time in the ring was vital if he was to overcome his biggest rival. 

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Joshua defeats Prenga in dramatic triumph

Watch: 'AJ' survives double knockdown to destroy Albanian

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Not to be outdone, on the eve of Joshua vs. Prenga, Fury went underground to toy with Mariusz Wach in Thailand, but reports from the bout suggest that the man who ruled the heavyweight division for nine years with some superb wins is perhaps nowhere near that level anymore.

But maybe he still has enough to get past Joshua. 

Fury gets past Wach

Against Wach, Fury moved, he smothered, he threw shots from different angles and although he took the occasional shot, he was never once troubled in a fight where Wach refused to come out for round eight.

Fury got rounds in a fight he was barely troubled, but the same cannot be said for Joshua. 

Going back to 2004, Bernard Hopkins stood on the verge of hitting the jackpot when he and Oscar De La Hoya appeared in separate fights Las Vegas.

The plan was simple, each had to win their respective fights, and then they would meet in the biggest fight of that year a few months later, but Felix Sturm almost ruined those grand ideas. 

Hopkins had defeated Robert Allen comfortably and then he took a seat inside his dressing room to see De La Hoya take on Sturm.

The well-respected German was not expected to test De La Hoya, but he was in the fight from the outset as Oscar’s leap to middleweight looked rushed as he struggled with Sturm’s size and jab. 

The HBO cameras would repeatedly pan to Hopkins’ dressing room where the anxious Philadelphian awaited the result, and when De La Hoya received a narrow win, the relief on Hopkins’ face was evident. 

It’s likely Fury endured similar anxiety when seeing Joshua on the floor twice against Prenga, almost ruining his hopes of finally securing a showdown with Joshua. 

Fury faced nervous wait watching Joshua vs Prenga

When Joshua finally ended Prenga’s chances in the second round, it was all eyes on him against Fury, but with both men well past their peaks, who now has the edge heading into one of heavyweight boxing’s most eagerly anticipated fights? 

On Saturday, morning, it’s likely that Joshua will have been favoured following Fury’s messy performance, but there's no way anyone could back the 2012 Olympic superstar with any confidence after watching him almost unravel against Prenga. 

Many had spoken about the Albanian’s power heading into the contest, but the two punches that floored Joshua were shots that lacked conviction when observing if they fully connected, and if he did land truly, would Joshua have been in even worse trouble. 

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Fury will have watched the fight through his hands, but once all was said and done in Saudi Arabia, he will have been straight onto the phone to those closest to him brimming with excitement, confident he will land a big strike when their still unconfirmed meeting goes ahead later this year. 

For Joshua, he must work on defence, as it is now six times he has been floored in his last three fights. After a long, punishing career, it might be that his punch resistance is waning even if his power remains, as evidenced by the huge right hand that destroyed Prenga. 

Joshua vs. Fury is no longer a fight about deciding the world’s best heavyweight, which it would've been at any time in between 2019-2021, and it’s not even a title fight that would've seemed unthinkable at one point.  

This is a fight that will satisfy the winner greatly and demoralise the loser to the point where retirement is the best option.  

Once upon a time, Joshua and Fury could've been fighting at the height of their primes.

Now, in 2026, it’s set to be a feud that will be settled by who has more of their prime left, and after both their fights this weekend.

It’s Fury who now has a small edge, even though Joshua still has the power to flip those odds into his favour once their fight finally gets underway. 

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