Barry Hearn Sees Different Anthony Joshua Before Prenga Fight

Hearn believes Joshua is in the best place mentally since turning professional, but Kristian Prenga may provide few answers about the former champion’s future

Barry Hearn says he has not seen Anthony Joshua this motivated since the start of his professional career as the former heavyweight champion prepares to face Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Jeddah. Whether that mindset translates against a meaningful heavyweight test remains unanswered.

“AJ is in an amazing place at the moment. Obviously, I’ve seen him since 2012. We’ve got very close. He’s like a member of our family.

“I don’t think I’ve seen him so motivated for the long term. Some of that’s been fueled by that tragic accident, but he’s now talking about the next three years in the ring. It was a year ago that 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 punch from a big lad to knock out anyone in the world. So, you’ve got to be on your toes all the time. You can’t take this for granted. And when you get your chance, you’ve got to take it.

“AJ is in the mood to cause a lot of pain on Saturday. I don’t think I’ve seen him look better than this in the 14 years I’ve known him. He is in the right place, and I think on Saturday in Jeddah will be the right time,” Barry Hearn told Sky Sports.

Prenga wasn’t chosen to be a threat. He’s there to give Joshua rounds after the accident. Gym performances don’t mean much when the opponent isn’t expected to test you. Until Joshua gets back in with a heavyweight who can crack and force him to answer questions, nobody knows if the flaws from the Dubois fight remain. Barry Hearn’s comments are what you’d expect from a promoter backing one of his biggest stars.

Joshua was stopped by Daniel Dubois in 2024. AJ rebounded from that defeat last December, knocking out the YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a fight that was largely viewed as a celebrity-esque spectacle. Even in that victory, Joshua looked vulnerable before knocking out Paul.

AJ has always looked like a million bucks on the scale or hitting pads in the gym, but that means very little once someone real lands a clean shot on his chin.

He can look as motivated as Barry Hearn says, but gym work can’t replicate how a fighter reacts to getting hit, especially after coming back from a car accident. If Prenga manages to land something solid on Saturday, we’ll see right away if those old vulnerabilities are still there.

“I don’t think I’ve seen AJ look better than this!” 👀 Barry Hearn on the upcoming Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury fight 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lSXyM1HDbk

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) July 20, 2026