Fury wins low-key warm-up to keep Joshua fight on track

What the report says

Nile Post, carrying a BBC Sport report, said Tyson Fury won a subdued heavyweight warm-up bout against Mariusz Wach at the Max Muay Thai Stadium in Pattaya, Thailand. Fury, 37, was reported to have controlled the fight through seven rounds before Wach, 46, was pulled out by his corner at the start of the eighth. The venue drew a small crowd of no more than 1,500 people, a sharp contrast with Fury’s previous stadium-scale events in Britain.

The victory was described as the 36th of Fury’s professional career and keeps alive the prospect of a long-discussed all-British fight with Anthony Joshua. Joshua is scheduled for his own comeback bout against Albania’s Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Fury said after his win that he had completed his test and that Joshua now had to come through his, while also indicating he would return home rather than travel to Jeddah.

The report said a Fury-Joshua announcement could follow if Joshua wins, though key details remain unsettled. Eddie Hearn was cited as saying Joshua’s contract calls for the fight to be staged in the UK, while there is also speculation about a possible American venue. Fury named several possible locations, including Las Vegas, New York, Ireland and London, without confirming a site.

The Pattaya bout was not carried live on television or radio and is expected to appear in the third season of the Netflix reality series “At Home With The Furys.” The report noted that ticket profits were to go to a local charity supporting disadvantaged children and students with disabilities.