Boxing betting tips: Preview and best bets for Tyson Fury vs Mariusz Wach

Boxing betting tips: Friday July 24

1pt Tyson Fury to win by decision at 7/2 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power)

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British boxing’s two biggest stars are in action on consecutive nights this weekend, and we’re promised they will finally face each other later in the year.

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have been threatening to fight each other for the best part of 10 years now and while they may both have seen better days, a bout between the long-time rivals could still be the biggest event in the sport.

Before that, though, they take part in separate semi-finals ahead of their long-awaited showdown and, unlike the men’s football team in the US last week, there is little chance of English heartbreak in these semis.

First up on Friday night is Tyson Fury, who faces veteran Mariusz Wach and ‘The Gypsy King’ is, unsurprisingly, an overwhelming favourite at 1/40, and he’s as short as 1/150 in places.

In his first outing since dropping a pair of points defeats to generational great Oleksandr Usyk, Fury returned from 17 months out of the ring to beat Arslanbek Makhmudov by unanimous decision at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April.

After such a long time out of the ring, he wanted rounds that night and that is exactly what he got - winning every single session of his comeback bout.

Makhmudov may have been a match for Fury physically, but he certainly wasn’t a match for him skill-wise, and the former champion did as he pleased for much of the fight against the Russian.

However, Fury never looked like getting rid of his opponent on that occasion and anything less than a stoppage this time will be classed as a disappointment for the former champion, who is 1/5 to win inside the distance.

After all, Wach (39-13) is 46 years old now and he is a very different fighter to the one who was unbeaten when losing a lopsided decision to Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight championship in 2012.

Wach’s ambition deserted him a long time ago and he is nothing more than a journeyman now, showing little interest in winning fights when he is in with someone of a good standard.

The giant Pole has lost seven of his last 10 contests and those three wins came against low level opposition, so it’s very hard to see him posing any sort of threat to Fury and this should be nothing more than a glorified sparring session.

The most interesting element of this contest is its location, as it takes place in Pattaya, Thailand in front of around just 1500 fans at the Max Muaythai Stadium. Fury is keen to give back to the country he has fallen in love with in recent years and he has pledged to give profits from the bout to local charities.

The fight isn’t even being screened live by any broadcaster and, instead, will be shown as part of the next series of his hit Netflix documentary ‘At Home with The Furys’.

With little threat posed by Wach, especially at this stage of his career, the question then turns to how and when Fury will win. If he is fully motivated and is anything like his old self, then Fury should get be able to get the job done by the middle rounds.

However, it is worth noting that we have seen Fury take opponents lightly and turn in far-from-vintage performances before.

His fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is a fine example of this, as Fury appeared to have done very little training for that crossover contest in 2023 and he was lucky to escape with a split decision, having been dropped in the third round.

Also, we really don’t know what Fury as left at the age of 37. Having reached veteran status now after nearly 18 years as a professional, it would be naïve to think he is still at the peak of his powers and we learnt nothing from the Makhmudov fight, as Fury did just enough to keep nicking rounds and never put his foot on the gas.

Whether that was his choice or not is the concern, and we haven’t seen enough of him yet to know how much losing - not once but twice - against Usyk has affected him.

There is no suggestion from me that he is in danger of losing this fight, but his many miles on the clock and a potential lack of motivation against someone who he should beat easily could be factors in how Fury wins.

Wach isn’t very mobile nowadays, but he knows how to look after himself. Only five people have stopped Wach and those have generally been late in the fight, excluding Moses Itauma two years ago. The exciting young Brit halted Wach in the second round to make a real statement, but Fury doesn’t have the power, speed or explosiveness of Itauma, who was hitting his man with punches he couldn’t see that night.

Wach will likely be able to see Fury’s shots coming much better and while the underdog will be on the receiving end for much of the contest, it won’t be fought at a high pace or with much intensity.

So, considering all of these factors, there is a fair chance this will go longer than people are expecting it to, and it is only scheduled for 10 rounds, instead of the usual 12 stanzas that we are used to seeing at this level.

Therefore, the 7/2 for FURY TO WIN BY DECISION could be worth chancing and I think backers at those odds may get a good run for their money.

Posted at 09:25 BST on 23/07/26

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