Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga: Brandon Moore backs Albanian to beat AJ in similar fashion to Andy Ruiz in Tyson Fury warm-up bout

21.07.2026, 08:24 skysports.com

Kristian Prenga has been backed to upset Anthony Joshua "like [Andy] Ruiz did" by sparring partner Brandon Moore ahead of their fight on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua's first professional defeat came at the hands of Ruiz in 2019, in a monumental upset at Madison Square Garden that saw Joshua lose his IBF, WBA and WBO titles.

Though Joshua - who is fighting Prenga (20-1-0, 20 KOs) as a warm-up bout for his highly-anticipated fight against Tyson Fury in the winter - is heavily favoured against the Albanian, Moore feels that the British heavyweight could be subject to a similar shock defeat in Jeddah.

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"[Prenga] looks really, really, really good in sparring right now. It's going to be a pretty entertaining fight," Moore told Sky Sports.

"I think that he has a pretty good shot of beating him, and I think he's bigger than Joshua. Joshua just has a muscular physique, but Prenga's a bigger man.

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"It's going to be a tough fight, but I think he can catch [Joshua] the same way Andy Ruiz did.

"This is AJ's first fight back. AJ's had a lot of stuff going on in his life - nothing but respect to AJ, but when you're getting back into the ring, you haven't fought in a while, that ring rust is real.

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"This is not a small thing - everybody's going to be watching."

Moore, who is hopeful of his own high-profile bout against a UK heavyweight, was quick to emphasise the value of Prenga's fight against Joshua, which is undoubtedly the biggest of his career so far.

"I told [Prenga] that he has the opportunity of a lifetime. He has the opportunity that I would wish for.

"AJ is a great fighter, and he's done amazing things in the sport of boxing.

"But [Prenga] has the opportunity, you know, to be in the names of people that have beaten future Hall of Famers.

"Everything has to be aligned. He has to do everything perfectly."

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