Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight deal is SIGNED: AJ announces his return to boxing after car crash that killed his friends – before he ends 10-year wait to fight Fury

The warm-up fight and the mega fight that will follow are both signed by Anthony Joshua. Thus ended a decade of speculation, debate, provocation and banter between him and Tyson Fury.

AJ will finally make his painful comeback on July 25 in Riyadh against the little-known, mostly untested but allegedly powerful punching Albanian Kristian Prenga. This is the first part of the agreement with the Gypsy King that will culminate in the Battle of Britain.

Saudi paymaster Turki Alalshikh says against Joshua and Fury: ‘For my friends in Great Britain, this is happening, it’s signed.’

When and where?

The date will be the end of this year, most likely November. Croke Park in Dublin is more likely to be the venue than Wembley, reinforcing the certainty that all this is possible with loads of money.

Joshua will first face Kristian Prenga in his comeback fight on July 25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

When Joshua revealed he was now sufficiently recovered from the psychological pain of losing two of his best friends in that horrific car crash in Africa in December, he added: ‘The landlord (in his words) will collect his rent.’

As for Fury, who now lives in the tax haven of the Isle of Man, he will save millions by boxing AJ in the Emerald Isle instead of the UK.

So who can blame them? They put in many more hours to make this fight a reality than they did their last fight. These include AJ’s circus act with YouTube celebrity Jake Paul in December and Fury’s one-sided beating of Russian bear wrestler Arslanbek Makhmudov earlier this month.

Joshua, who was later ringside at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, refused to respond to Fury’s taunts. Now that both have negotiated separate financial agreements with His Excellency Alalshikh, each potentially worth $20-30 million, the gloves are on.

Joshua says: ‘It’s no secret that I’ve spent some time rebuilding (following not only the loss of friends but also the knockout of Daniel Dubois) so I’m ready to step back into the ring. I’m looking forward to continuing where I left off.’

Fury says: ‘Ours is the biggest fight in world boxing right now. In fact, this is the only fight I’m interested in since I made my (fifth!) comeback.’

When Joshua and Fury meet in the ring, Daily Mail Sport can exclusively reveal Alalshikh is hopeful music superstar Dua Lipa will also attend and perform. He’s a huge fan of the Brit’s music and admires his rise to stardom.

Turki Alalshikh (left) is a big fan of British music superstar Dua Lipa and hopes she’ll attend the Fury-Joshua fight and perform

After beating Arslanbek Makhmudov earlier this month, Fury called on Joshua to fight him

Joshua survived a car crash that claimed the lives of his friends late last year

As for the third man of this trilogy, Prenga has only one defeat on his record and has knocked out all 20 of his victims. He says: ‘Joshua is a great fighter but he made a terrible miscalculation in choosing me as his opponent.’

If so, Fury will be infuriated, having repeatedly warned Joshua not to risk a temporary fight before they meet.