Fury-Joshua fight set for November after warm-up bouts in July

Tyson Fury will fight Mariusz Wach on July 24 in Thailand, with Anthony Joshua taking on Kristian Prenga the following day in Saudi Arabia, setting up a November collision between the British heavyweights, according to The Ring Magazine.

The back-to-back warm-up fights represent the clearest path yet to a showdown that has eluded fans for years. Fury faces the 46-year-old Wach in Pattaya, while Joshua meets Prenga in Jeddah. Both bouts carry minimal risk but maximum consequence — a single upset would derail what The Ring called "probably the most important fight in British history."

Fury's Thailand detour precedes Joshua clash

Fury initially told Joshua no warm-up was necessary and even threatened retirement if his next opponent was not the former unified champion. That stance shifted once Joshua booked Prenga for late July. The Fury-Wach bout will take place in a Muay Thai stadium and is not expected to be televised, with Fury claiming all proceeds will go to local charities.

"When the pair failed to deliver the head-to-head moment that everyone craved in the moments after Fury's victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, a few alarm bells began to ring," The Ring reported. An hour after that fight, Fury seemed uncertain the Joshua bout would happen at all.

Both men are now well past 35, making the November date far later than the sport hoped for. Should both come through the July weekend unscathed, they will finally sit down for a joint press conference to announce the fight that British boxing has been waiting on for the better part of a decade.

Source: ringmagazine.com