Anthony Joshua weighed in at 251lb ahead of his comeback fight against Kristian Prenga in Jeddah on Saturday night, 7.6lb heavier than he was for his last outing against Jake Paul in December, when he tipped the scales at 243.4lb.
Prenga, an unbeaten Albanian heavyweight, came in even heavier at 261.4lb, giving him a 10.4lb weight advantage over the two-time heavyweight world champion. Despite the increase, Joshua remains short of the heaviest weight of his professional career, the 255.4lb he registered in April 2023 before outpointing Jermaine Franklin.
The fight marks Joshua's return less than a year after a car crash killed two of his closest friends and members of his inner circle, throwing his career into uncertainty. Joshua has vowed to honour their memory by continuing the work they had planned together, supporting their loved ones financially and using his career to build the future they had all spoken about.
Joshua faces power-punching Albanian
Prenga, 35, has won 20 of his fights inside the distance and has just one defeat on his professional record. But he has never faced an opponent close to Joshua's level. Joshua has previously fought Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker, Andy Ruiz Jr, Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.
Joshua has refused to discuss what comes next, saying throughout fight week that his focus is solely on Prenga. The bout has widely been viewed as a chance for Joshua to build momentum toward a long-awaited fight with Tyson Fury.
Fury's plans in doubt
Fury beat Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday evening. He had been expected to fly to Saudi Arabia for the first official face-off with Joshua after Saturday's fight, but Fury said before his win that he might instead return home to spend time with his family, casting doubt on whether the meeting in Jeddah will happen.
Joshua said at Thursday's press conference that there was no point discussing the heavyweight division or a fight with Fury until he got past Prenga first.
