Tyson Fury remained on course for a long-awaited showdown against Anthony Joshua with a dominant seventh round retirement of Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday.
Fury and Joshua are fighting a day apart and ‘The Gypsy King’ kept his end of the bargain, with the referee waving off the contest, with Wach not making it to the eighth round at the Max Muaythai Stadium in Pattaya.
The bout was fought in front of around 1500 fans and Fury was dominant from the opening bell.
The 37-year-old was sharp on his feet and was effortlessly switching between stances, as the Pole struggled to keep up with his pace and accuracy and looked all of his 46 years.
Wach, coming into the clash off a defeat, caught the Brit with a pinpoint right hand in the second, but Fury remained in control, connecting to head and body with regularity.
The two-time heavyweight world champion was boxing seamlessly on the backfoot against his outmatched and veteran foe, who ate around 10 jabs in the fourth round.
Fury, who came out of retirement to outpoint Arslanbek Makhmudov in April, was showboating by the fifth, landing five straight uppercuts, with the 46-year-old tiring.
Fury looked to finish proceedings by the halfway mark, but Wach stood firm amid the relentless pressure.
After another punishing round in the seventh, Wach’s race was finally run, retiring on his stool before the start of the eighth.
Fury claimed the WBC Meta Humanitarian belt and called out long-time rival Joshua, who faces Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
“I got through my test tonight. Let’s see [if Anthony Joshua] gets through his test,” he said post-fight.
“The biggest test of it all is how big his balls are.
“I think he’s a big s***house. In Tottenham in front of 70,000 people, he never had the guts to get in the ring and face me.
“Let’s see if he ever does. I’m not convinced.”
Wach suffered a 14th professional defeat and a seventh in 10 bouts.
The fight was not broadcast live and will be instead shown on the third series of At Home With The Furys later this year.
Ibekwe destroys Baer
Simon Ibekwe announced himself to the heavyweight division with a highlight-reel first round knockout of Daniel Baer.
Ibekwe laid Baer out cold with a thunderous right hand.
Remaining Undercard
Heavyweight prospect, Arlo Stephens knocked Arash Mardani down twice before securing a second round stoppage.
Stephens (3-0, 2 KOs) floored Mardani (2-1, 2 KOs) in the opening round and once more in the second before the Iranian bizarrely went down on his own accord and the referee waved off the contest.
