Tyson Fury has won one fight in the past two years and nine months, while Anthony Joshua has a solitary victory over the past two years and four months. Fury outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, and Joshua broke the jaw of Jake Paul in December.
Recent defeats and looming showdown
Their three defeats during this period are more vivid: Fury lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, and Joshua was stopped by Daniel Dubois in September that year. Despite age, retirement talk, and inactivity, they remain on course to fight in November in a bout generating much more than $100 million.
Fury fights first on Friday night in Thailand against Mariusz Wach, a 46-year-old Polish journeyman, in Pattaya. The bout is so low-key it will not be live on television or any streaming platform. Fury said: “This great fight will not be streamed live. It will only be broadcast on my hit Netflix TV show At Home with the Furys season three.”
Low-risk tune-ups
Wach is a limited technician who challenged Wladimir Klitschko 14 years ago and lost every round. Since then, he has lost 12 more fights, most notably stopped in the second round by Moses Itauma two years ago. Fury trained in Thailand and has promised to donate proceeds to local starving and homeless children.
Mauricio Sulaimán Jr, president of the WBC, announced they will award Fury their inaugural Humanitarian title after the fight. Fury may pull his punches to get more rounds of exercise.
Joshua’s return is more meaningful as it marks his recovery since the accident in Nigeria that killed his friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele. He prepares to fight Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga late Saturday in Jeddah.
“It’s on Prenga, but it’s also on Fury, because I want it all,” Joshua said. “I believe I can become undisputed. I’ve still got the ambition and hunger. Let’s keep rolling the dice, let’s keep entertaining because this is our time.”
Promoters’ praise and Prenga’s record
Barry Hearn said: “Prenga is dangerous, but Joshua is a ferocious animal at the moment. Don’t blink, look for fireworks. AJ is not taking anything for granted, he knows he’s got a job to do, and he will be ruthlessly efficient. He’s in the mood to cause an awful lot of pain.”
Eddie Hearn praised Joshua’s mental fortitude: “Everyone’s aware of what happened and, for me, this is one of the great comebacks. I know AJ is business as usual, but we’re incredibly proud of what he’s done to return to the ring, 99.9% of people would have given up because of the mental battle with grief.”
Dazn, charging an additional £19.99 pay-per-view fee, describes Prenga as an “unbeaten 21-0 knockout artist”. However, Prenga has lost to Giovanni Auriemma, who has beaten just one other opponent in 10 professional bouts, and has faced only anonymous opponents.
Fury said in Thailand he still harbours doubts the fight with Joshua will happen, refused an invitation to Jeddah, and dismissed Joshua as a “bottle job flapper and a chinless wonder”. The Fury and Joshua bandwagon will not be derailed this weekend, given the money riding on these routine warm-up bouts before they confirm the date and venue for the most overhyped fight in British boxing history.
