Tyson Fury fights Mariusz Wach behind closed doors in Thailand tonight, while Anthony Joshua faces Kristian Prenga in Riyadh tomorrow — two warm-up bouts standing between the British heavyweights and their long-awaited 2026 showdown.

Both fights are designed to sharpen, not threaten. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn was blunt about the Prenga assignment: "It is designed to be competitive, but not too competitive." Prenga, an Albanian with 20 wins, 20 knockouts and one defeat, has "never boxed at AJ's level," Hearn added, according to BBC Sport. Fury's opponent is a different story. Reuters described the 46-year-old Wach as a "Polish journeyman" — a veteran brought in to give rounds, not nightmares.

But tune-up fights carry their own dangers, and they are not the kind that show up on an opponent's record.

BBC boxing correspondent Steve Bunce laid out the risks with characteristic directness. For Fury, the biggest fear is not losing to Wach. It is that the 37-year-old "looks awful" — that the rust and the years catch up on camera. Worse still, Fury might "find out that he has lost something and senses some flaws in himself," Bunce told BBC Sport. A fighter can survive a bad night. Surviving a bad revelation is harder.

Then there is the physical risk. Bunce warned that "the greater threat to the Fury-AJ super-fight is injury." Fury's age and hard training camps make him vulnerable to pulling an arm or a leg. The same applies to Joshua. One awkward step, one swollen hand, and the whole edifice wobbles.

Fury's fight with Wach adds an unusual wrinkle. Bunce suggested there will be "some sort of gentleman's agreement" between the two men regarding the use of elbows or head — the kind of roughhouse tactics that a fighter closing out his career might deploy without much concern for consequences. Wach has nothing to lose. Fury has everything to lose.

The super-fight itself is signed for 2026, with promoter Frank Warren insisting there is "no danger" of it collapsing, as Sky Sports reported. No venue has been confirmed, though Principality Stadium in Cardiff is under consideration. Organisers want a 2am UK start to capture international television audiences, and Joshua has said he would not object to fighting at that hour if it meant Wembley Stadium could host the bout, per Sky Sports.

The journey here has not been smooth. Fury declared the fight off in April after setting a self-imposed deadline for Joshua's camp to sign, only for the deal to be resurrected days later. World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has publicly backed Joshua to win, as Reuters reported in May.

For fans, the next 48 hours are about holding breath. Two men need two wins, two healthy bodies, and no moments of doubt. The super-fight everyone wants is signed. The obstacle now is simply getting there in one piece.