TYSON FURY FULFILLED his side of the bargain for a potential heavyweight blockbuster against Anthony Joshua by stopping veteran Polish fighter Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand.

Around 1,500 fans watched the bout, which had no live broadcast, and saw Fury largely dominate his overmatched 46-year-old opponent, who slipped to his eighth defeat in his last 11 contests.

While Wach remained upright, he was pulled out after the end of the seventh round by his corner, battered into submission by Fury, who made it back-to-back wins in 2026 after a 16-month lay-off.

All eyes will now turn to Joshua’s fight against unheralded Albanian knockout artist Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

If Joshua has his hand raised then it should pave the way for a long-awaited and much-anticipated ‘Battle of Britain’ against fellow former two-time world heavyweight champion Fury.

“I got through my test tonight. Let’s see if he gets through his test,” Fury said when interviewed in the ring after the fight.

There will be no face-off between Fury and Joshua in Jeddah, though, as the former plans to head straight home.

“I’ve got to face off with my wife. I’ve been away six out of the last seven months.

“I’m definitely not going to Jeddah. I’m going home to my wife and kids who have been supporting me from a distance.

“I’ve been away in training camp for 10 weeks. I was away before that for four months, so I’m going to go home and have a rest.”

After Joshua announced he would return to the ring against Prenga – his first fight since being involved in a car crash in December in Nigeria that killed two of his closest friends – Fury also decided on a tune-up, having outpointed Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov in April.

For only the fourth time in 39 fights and the first in 15 years, Fury was leaner than his opponent after clocking 265lbs, nearly two stone lighter than Wach, who scaled 291.4lbs at Thursday’s weigh-in.

The 6ft 9in Fury though had the height and reach advantages and used the jab to control the range, as well as switching between orthodox and southpaw stances to confuse his rival. 

While Wach is a former world title challenger, losing to Wladimir Klitschko in 2012, he is regarded as a faded force and was stopped inside two rounds by rising British prospect Moses Itauma two years ago.

Wach found the target with the odd right hand but Fury was the busier and more punishing fighter, at one point landing five uppercuts in a row to the cheers of a partisan crowd.

Fury, who has based his training camps in Thailand since reversing his retirement at the start of the year, beat Makhmudov in front of 60,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but was undeterred by fighting in front of a smaller crowd.

Following the end of the seventh round, the contest was waved off by the referee after Wach’s corner indicated their charge was unable to continue as Fury (now 36-2-1, 25KOs) improved his record.