Joshua vs Prenga prediction: Predictions for heavyweight fight from fighters and pundits

Anthony Joshua returns to the ring on Saturday towards the comparatively unknown Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, figuring out that victory would arrange a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury.

Joshua, a two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist, has received 29 fights – 26 by stoppage – and misplaced 4.

Albanian Prenga enters the fight with a formidable document of his personal, having achieved all of his 20 victories with stoppages whereas struggling just one defeat.

However, the 35-year-old has by no means confronted anybody near Joshua’s stage.

After Fury comfortably dispatched Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday, can Joshua come by his personal warm-up bout?

This will probably be Joshua’s first fight since he was concerned in a automobile crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two shut buddies, Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.

The Fury-Joshua fight has been a decade within the making. Contracts have been signed, with the blockbuster bout anticipated to happen later this yr.

But may Prenga spoil the social gathering and pull off an enormous shock to go down in boxing historical past as the person who received in the best way of Joshua-Fury occurring?

Radio commentary from Jeddah will start from about 20:30 BST on BBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport web site and app.

Live textual content commentary will start at 19:30 on the BBC Sport web site and app.

BBC Sport spoke to figures from the boxing world to get their predictions for Saturday’s fight.