Fury To Fight Wach In Thailand

Tyson Fury's warm-up fight has a name, a date, and a location — and none of them were what anyone expected.

The former heavyweight champion will face Mariusz Wach on July 24 at the Max Muay Thai Stadium in Pattaya, Thailand, in what Fury has described as a sharpening exercise before the main event of his career.

The following night, Anthony Joshua faces Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia. If both Britons come through unscathed, the long-awaited showdown between them moves to the front of the queue with a mid-November date being targeted.

Fury returned from retirement in April with a points victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has insisted he wants to stay active rather than sit idle in the weeks before Joshua.

Wach is a known commodity in heavyweight circles, most notably for taking Wladimir Klitschko the full 12 rounds in an unsuccessful world title challenge in 2012. At 6ft 7in, the experienced Pole has made a career of providing credible opposition for fighters moving up in class — he has faced Makhmudov, losing inside six rounds, and was stopped in two rounds by Moses Itauma in 2024. One week separates Fury in Pattaya and Joshua in Riyadh. If both nights go to plan, November belongs to them.