Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua faces 'biggest test of all' after former champion stops Mariusz Wach in Thailand
Published 24/07/2026 at 19:21 GMT+1
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Tyson Fury has laid down the gauntlet to Anthony Joshua after a technical knockout victory over Mariusz Wach, saying the two-time unified heavyweight champion faces the ”biggest test of all” ahead of his bout with Kristian Prenga on Saturday in Riyadh.
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Fury forced Wach to retire after the seventh round of fighting in Pattaya, Thailand, as the fight took place without television cameras.
He wasted no time in calling out long-time rival Joshua in the post-fight interview, as the pair look set to finally meet later this year.
”Let me tell you something. I’ve been through my test tonight. Let’s see if he can get through his test.” Fury said. ”The biggest test of all is how big his b***s are.”
”He’s a big s***house. He never had the guts to get in a ring and face me. Let’s see if he ever does. I’m not convinced.
”Is it going to be in Vegas? Is it going to be in New York? Is it going to be in Ireland? Is it going to be in London? Who knows where the fight will be? It might even be in Pattaya, Thailand!"
On how the fight would have played out if it was Joshua in the ring instead of Wach, Fury had a simple answer.
He said: ”Pretty much the same way. I would have jabbed his head off and chinned him.”
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Business done for Fury, who will not attend Joshua’s fight
The former WBC champion dominated large swathes of the fight, including landing a punch after the bell in the second round, and ultimately fought his 46-year-old opponent into submission with a combination of fast jabs and heavy punches.
Fury came into the bout as heavy favourite, and Wach’s age ultimately caught up with him as his strength and stamina ebbed away.
The result means Fury’s record extends to 36-2-1 as he bagged his second victory of the year, following his unanimous decision win over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April.
However, he announced he would not be heading to Saudi Arabia to witness Joshua’s bout with Prenga, instead opting to spend time with his family.
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While Joshua is expected to beat the Albanian, Prenga boasts a 20-1-0 record, with all 20 wins being by knockout, but has not yet faced anyone of the calibre of the Olympic gold medallist.
It will be Joshua’s first competitive action since the death of two close friends in a car crash in Nigeria last year.
Joshua is the heavy favourite as he takes on his Albanian opponent in what is slated to be a warm-up clash before an all-British extravaganza against Fury later this year.
Both Fury and Joshua are now deposed former world champions of the heavyweight division, with their proposed fight later in 2026 set to be perhaps the biggest draw of their careers in terms of box office performance.
Fury and Joshua were champions before they met Oleksandr Usyk, both of them losing the first clash and then their rematch.
Usyk was considered by many to be the better fighter in all four fights as he became undisputed heavyweight champion, the first of the four-belt era, after beating Joshua (twice in 2022) and then Fury (twice in 2024).
Between Joshua and Fury, he defeated Daniel Dubois in 2023, and did so again in 2025 as he became the undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time in his career.
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