Hearn said the confidence behind the scenes was far more aggressive than the respectful tone Prenga’s side displayed in public.
“They always told me, cancel the Fury fight. Cancel the Fury fight. And I told them, they’re quite respectful people. They come and say, ‘We come with nothing but respect.’ I said, ‘No, no, don’t come with respect. Come with beef.’ If you believe it, tell us. Don’t get up there with the press and say, “Oh, I really respect what AJ has accomplished.” Tell us, cancel the Tyson Fury fight because I’m going to knock you out and spoil the biggest fight in British boxing history.”
Joshua returns to the Jeddah Superdome on July 25 after a long layoff following injury and a car accident. A fight with Fury is expected later this year if both men deal with their affairs first.
Prenga has never fought anyone close to Joshua’s level, but Joshua enters the fight with more questions than answers. He is returning from a serious car accident and has not faced a top heavyweight since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in 2024.
Hearn suggested Prenga’s camp genuinely believed Joshua was vulnerable heading into his return.
“A lot of people watch the fight with AJ, and they get this false belief. I think he thinks he can win, but they get it in their head that AJ is not the fighter that he was, especially coming off the layoff, coming off the injury and the accident. These guys really believe they can come in.”
The Matchroom chairman also revealed the level of intensity he sees from Joshua ahead of the fight, insisting there is no danger of his fighter Prenga looking out due to the attention surrounding Fury.
“AJ goes into this fight with the mentality to tear him to shreds, to absolutely punish him and grind him to a pulp on July 25th. There is no friendly friendly friendship. I’ve never seen AJ go into a fight with this kind of aggression.”
The Fury fight remains the big draw on the heavyweight calendar, but Prenga’s team are openly talking as if it will never happen.
Prenga’s camp may be grossly overestimating his chances. What stands out is that they feel comfortable saying the Fury fight may never happen. A few years ago, no one would have dared.
