Tyson Fury stopped Mariusz Wach on Friday night, with the 46-year-old retiring on his stool after the seventh round of their fight in Pattaya, Thailand — a bout designed to take the British heavyweight one step closer to taking on Anthony Joshua later this year.Wach had weighed in for the fight at 291.4lbs, some 26.4lbs heavier than Fury, who weighed 265lbs, but the additional weight did not help an already limited boxer, who has become something of a journeyman in recent years, losing 11 of his last 17 bouts dating back to 2017.Two years ago, the Polish veteran was stopped in the second round by a 19-year-old Moses Itauma, the British heavyweight being touted as the man to follow in Fury and Joshua’s footsteps.On Friday night, Wach managed to land an early shot on Fury but then became something of a human punchbag, absorbing a series of five uppercuts at one stage in the fifth round. As the bell went to end the seventh round he stumbled wearily to his stool, where he remained, calling an end to his night’s work.This was Fury’s second fight of the year, following the 37-year-old’s unanimous points victory against Russian heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April. It had seemed at the time as though that was the fight that would lead to the Joshua bout being finalised, but instead, Joshua signed a contract to fight little-known Albanian Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with that fight taking place on Saturday night.That left Fury with a gap in his calendar he was not keen on, and he eventually filled it with this matchup against Wach.The planned 10-round bout was not televised anywhere, with those involved explaining that highlights of the event are being saved for Netflix who will use them as part of the third series of ‘At Home with the Furys’ – the behind-the-scenes show on the Fury family that has become a hit for the U.S. streaming giant.Now, all eyes turn to Jeddah, where Joshua must fulfil his side of the bargain and beat Prenga on Saturday night. If he does so, the long-awaited bout with Fury (which still has no confirmed date or location) moves one step closer.