Anthony Joshua-Tyson Fury is a 'cash grab', says Teddy Atlas

Teddy Atlas is not expecting any surprises this weekend when Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury take on overmatched opposition ahead of what the great coach labels a ‘money grab’ showdown between the two British heavyweights.

Joshua, 29-4 (26 KOs), takes on Kristian Prenga, 20-1 (20 KOs), in Saudi Arabia Saturday in his first bout since breaking Jake Paul’s jaw in December. The 36-year-old subsequently survived a car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his best friends.

One must go back to 2024 for when Joshua last mixed with world class opposition. He was stopped in five rounds by Daniel Dubois in a bid for the IBF title. 

Fury’s stock has also slumped in recent years. Fury, 35-2 (24 KOs), was twice outpointed by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024 before returning in April to decision Arslanbek Makhmudov over 12 rounds in London.

On Friday the 37-year-old fights in Thailand in a bizarre matchup with the shop-worn Maruisz Wach, 39-13 (20 KOs). Wach, 46, hasn’t won a meaningful fight since the last decade and was the loser in seven of his last 10 bouts.

“I think the warm-up fights are pretty much foregone conclusions,” Atlas told CanadaCasino. “I’m not knocking anyone who gets in the ring, but in a practical sense, they are foregone conclusions.

“Wach is 46 years old and has been knocked out five times. With Joshua and Prenga, I think it is all up to Joshua and how long the fight goes. 

“But we don’t know where Joshua is emotionally coming off that near-fatal car accident. We don’t know how that has impacted him. We saw how a car accident may have impacted Errol Spence. With Joshua, I definitely tell you it has impacted him. I just don’t know how much and how. If he is in a halfway decent place, I think he goes behind the jab, catches Prenga and the fight is over, maybe in two rounds.