Could Wach and Prenga truly derail Fury-Joshua super-bout?

News that the former will battle Polish veteran Mariusz Wach one night before the latter faces Kristian Prenga is out of the bag.

It makes good on Fury's pledge that he would fight three times this year, and secures 'The Gypsy King' his latest tune-up test.

Plenty of promoter noise appears to be rumbling on over the finer details for his fight with Joshua, like a date, time and place.

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But now, the only major hurdles the pair appear to have left are the men before them in the ring, men they should easily defeat.

Or will they? What happens if one or both stars come up short in these nominal tests? DAZN News considers a shock scenario.

Could Wach or Prenga win?

In simple terms, absolutely. Nearly any fighter in the same division holds a puncher's chance, and heavyweight is no exception.

In the case of Wach, there is pedigree too. Though considerably aged, he is still a former title challenger with some major wins.

Prenga is conversely more of an unknown, given his lesser wattage, but the raw numbers on his record remain impressive too.

This doesn't change the fact both are rank outsiders, of course. Fury and Joshua's teams will have been careful in their picks.

But despite the distance of their odds, both men will step into that ring surely driven by a desire to prove those doubters wrong.

What happens if Fury or Joshua lose?

This is the cruncher. Fury has repeatedly suggested any loss to Prenga for Joshua loses his interest and hooks their own clash.

Quite whether any contractual clause could prevent an exit from the bout is another matter, but the star does not appear keen.

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Beyond his bluster however, there are a lot of variables in play. A bout where one man comes in off a loss arguably devalues it.

Fury or Joshua may feel that they did not get the preparation they wanted for a generational clash, and opt to find another foe.

Defeat therefore could push any clash back - or possibly off the table entirely, depending on the circumstances each man faces.

What happens if both men lose?

To paraphrase Dad's Army, this might well be getting into the realms of fantasy - but if it did happen, could it be the great leveller?

If both Fury and Joshua arrive on the back of shock defeats, neither man nominally holds an advantage over the other's form.

In that sense, there is no reason to not carry on as planned towards their destination, though each may well rankle at doing just so.

No fighter wants to lose. Yet given the lucrative nature of this encounter, it seems unlikely either man wants to drop the ball too.

Ultimately, this is all hypothetical. Wach and Prenga will arrive to do their job. But Fury and Joshua best hope they do theirs as well.

Joshua vs. Prenga - exclusively on DAZN PPV

Watch Anthony Joshua's hugely anticipated return to the ring versus Kristian Prenga on Saturday, July 25 only on DAZN PPV. Buy as a one-off PPV or included, along with Itauma vs. Hrgovic and Canelo vs. Mbilli PPVs, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.

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