Two world title fights added to late-notice Joshua-Prenga undercard

Hamzah Sheeraz and Josh Kelly will make first defences of their world titles on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight fight with Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The full 13-fight card was announced by Turki Alalshikh with 12 days’ notice before the event, which is scheduled for Jeddah Superdome and will be shown worldwide on DAZN.

Sheeraz, Kelly handed first defences

Sheeraz will defend the WBO super middleweight title against Germany’s Simon Zachenhuber, two months after winning the vacant belt with a second-round stoppage of Alem Begic in Egypt on May 23. The 27-year-old Briton is 23-0-1 with 19 knockouts and is rated No. 9 by The Ring at super middleweight.

Zachenhuber, 28-1 with 19 knockouts, is ranked No. 7 by the WBO and comes into the bout after a fifth-round stoppage of Armin Ajrulai last month. His placement on the card will come as a shock to many. In April, the previously unbeaten Zachenhuber was upset by Pawel August on the Fury-Makhmudov card, who stepped in as a late replacement.

Kelly’s defence comes at 154lbs, where he puts the IBF title on the line against unbeaten Irish challenger Caoimhin Agyarko. Kelly won the belt in January with a majority decision over Bakhram Murtazaliev, a result that moved the Sunderland fighter to 18-1-1 and into The Ring’s No. 6 position at junior middleweight.

Agyarko, 18-0, receives his first world title opportunity after his IBF title eliminator against Brandon Adams was cancelled at short notice earlier this year. His most recent fight came last September, when he defeated Ishmael Davis by split decision.

Kelly’s title reign also carries wider relevance in the division, with Jaron “Boots” Ennis holding unified honours at junior middleweight. A win for Kelly would keep him in position for potential unification talks, though he first has to navigate an unbeaten challenger whose mandatory route was disrupted earlier in the year.

Prospects and Olympians fill out card

August, whose April win over Zachenhuber altered the German’s momentum, returns against unbeaten Dane Jacob Bank, one of the division’s most exciting emerging contenders following his January victory over former world champion William Scull. The winner could put themselves in position for an eventual fight with Sheeraz for his WBO belt.

Reito Tsutsumi returns to Saudi Arabia after stopping his opponent on the ‘Night of the Samurai’ card in Riyadh last December. The unbeaten Japanese featherweight faces Mexico’s Alvino Herrera, who also enters undefeated, albeit against local small hall opposition in Mexico.

The highly regarded Oleksandr Khyzhniak, an Olympic gold medallist from Ukraine, makes his second professional appearance against unbeaten French light heavyweight Lenny Patrach. British flyweight Mikie Tallon also appears on the card, with the 23-year-old from Liverpool matched against Venezuela’s Orlando Pino after extending his unbeaten record earlier this year.

India’s Nishant Dev, a 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, continues his professional start at super welterweight against Peru’s Cesar Diaz.

With two title fights now attached at short notice, the immediate focus shifts to final preparations and fight-week obligations in Jeddah, where Sheeraz and Kelly will each try to turn newly won belts into established reigns.