DiBella questions purpose of July 25 Riyadh fight and warns mismatch hurts Joshua’s market value

Lou DiBella has criticized the decision to match Anthony Joshua with Christian Prenga on July 25, calling the fight pointless. He argues the matchup lacks sporting value and does little to build Joshua’s standing with U.S. audiences.

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“If you’re going to fight, there’s zero purpose to it. If you can’t articulate a purpose to me, it shouldn’t be happening,” said promoter Dibella on the Ariel Helwani show.

DiBella’s comments are about as blunt as it gets. He’s essentially calling the July 25th Riyadh bout a glorified sparring session, and he’s clearly frustrated with the matchmaking direction.

“There’s zero chance of the wrong thing happening,” said DiBella about the possibility of Prenga scoring an upset. “It’s not a 1% chance.”

That view led him to question why a fight like this is being staged at all, especially at the level Joshua operates.

DiBella’s main gripe is that there’s no sporting value to this fight. He went as far as to call Prenga a “doorman at a nightclub,” arguing that while the guy is physically imposing and can punch if you’re standing still, he doesn’t belong in the same stratosphere as a two-time champion like Joshua.

“This is just like an affront that they’re going to charge people for it,” said DiBella.

DiBella also linked that type of matchmaking to a wider problem with how fighters connect with U.S. audiences, arguing that bouts without credible opposition fail to build interest outside a fighter’s home base.

“Here, people don’t know Joshua. Do you think people here care about Joshua and Fury?” said DiBella.

He made a similar point about rising prospects like Moses Itauma, saying limited competition slows recognition.

“You and I know who Moses Itauma is. Most people don’t… not here [U.S] at all.”

For DiBella, charging fans for a fight where the outcome is a 100% certainty is an “affront” to the audience.