Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua schedule July warm‑up bouts before anticipated mega fight

British heavyweight Tyson Fury will face Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand on 24 July 2026. At the official weigh‑in Fury tipped the scales at 265 lb, 26 lb lighter than Wach’s 291 lb – the first time in about 15 years he has been outweighed. The closed‑door event will host roughly 1,500 spectators, has no live broadcaster and will later appear in Netflix’s documentary series “At Home with the Furys”. Fury said, “I’m Mr Slim now… I want to box his head off for 12 rounds,” emphasizing his desire to stay match‑fit and hinting he could fight up to ten times this year.

In Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua is set to fight Albanian contender Kristian Prenga on 25 July 2026 in Jeddah. This marks Joshua’s first bout since his win over Jake Paul and a fatal car crash in December 2025 that killed two close friends. Joshua admitted, “It’s tough, every time I think about it, it hurts,” while Prenga asserted confidence, stating, “I don’t think he [Joshua] is the best heavyweight in the world… It’s not going to go 10 rounds or 12 rounds.”

Both fights are billed as final warm‑ups before a long‑awaited showdown between Fury and Joshua later in the year, likely in November. Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh hinted at a “big announcement” after the two bouts and posted to Fury about a potential Netflix partnership for the marquee clash.

The events follow Fury’s April victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov and Joshua’s comeback after a 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois, setting the stage for what promoters describe as a generational heavyweight bout.