Tyson Fury beat Maurisz Wach in Pattaya, Thailand, this weekend to clear his final hurdle ahead of a long-awaited clash with Anthony Joshua.

It was a straightforward runout for ‘The Gypsy King’, who forced a stoppage inside 7 rounds against the Polish veteran, now 46. In Wach’s last contest against a British heavyweight, he was stopped by Moses Itauma in the first.

Despite many fans criticising the performance, and Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn going as far as saying Fury is ‘shot’ compared to his best, Joshua praised his rival based on what he saw, albeit in few words.

Speaking to DAZN, the two-time unified heavyweight champion was asked for his thoughts.

“I was shown [some clips]. He looked good.”

Asked about the match-up with Fury, Joshua – who faces Kristian Prenga tonight in Saudi Arabia as his own ‘warm-up’ fight – said his full focus was on this immedaite performance before talk of the future.

“Let me focus on my job. He’s entitled to say whatever he wants.”

Fury goaded “s***house” Joshua in his post-fight interview, urging him to step into the ring later this year should he beat Prenga. The 37-year-old from Morecambe said that he hopes to sign the all-British clash this week.

Joshua will be looking to make a big statement against Albania’s Prenga, who has 20 knockouts but has fought nowhere near the level of the Brit.

If things go to plan for ‘AJ’ and his team, the Fury fight is being targeted for November. There are, however, still hurdles to overcome, particularly the location of the fight, which, despite the stars involved, may end up being New York.