"The Gypsy King" was in cruise control for the entire fight and proceedings were brought to an end when Wach failed to get off his stool for the start of the eighth round at Max Muay Thai Stadium.

It was expected that Fury would head straight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to watch Joshua tie up loose ends on his side as he takes on Kristian Prenga in his own warm-up bout on Saturday.

However, the 37-year-old said in his post-fight interview he won't be present to watch Joshua.

"I had a ten-week training camp and was away for four months before that ... time to go home and rest, regroup and hopefully get it signed next week," Fury said. "Who knows where the fight will be? Ireland, New York, Vegas, London ... might even be Pattaya, Thailand.

"Let's see if he gets through his test tomorrow ... the biggest test of all is how big his balls are, he didn't have the guts to get in the ring and face me, I’m not convinced."

Fighting in front of a packed crowd that erupted as he made his ring walk, Fury (35-2-1, 24 KOs) wasted little time asserting his authority. The former heavyweight champion opened with trademark feints and elusive upper-body movement, using a sharp jab to the head and body to dictate the range while repeatedly drawing reactions from Wach (39-13, 20 KOs).

The Polish veteran attempted to increase his output in the second round, but Fury's constant feints and movement disrupted any rhythm, with the pair exchanging during a lively finish to the session.

From there, the contest became increasingly one-sided. Fury took complete control in the third, sitting down on his punches and mixing head and body attacks as Wach struggled to find an answer. The dominance continued through the middle rounds, with Fury repeatedly snapping Wach's head back with the jab before driving him onto the ropes with hard uppercuts in the fifth.

The atmosphere reached its peak in the sixth as the entire arena broke into chants for Fury, who responded by piling on the pressure. Wach, despite absorbing sustained punishment, refused to wilt and showed the durability that has defined his long career against some of boxing's biggest names.

The end came between rounds when Wach's corner decided their fighter had taken enough, retiring him on his stool before the eighth round could begin.

The victory marked another successful outing for Fury in one of the most unusual settings of his career, with the former heavyweight champion exchanging the sport's biggest stadiums for an intimate but passionate Thai crowd.

Of his 46-year-old opponent, Fury said: "Mariusz is a big tough 6-foot-8 man, I always say ... in heavyweight boxing, you can get knocked out by anybody, I've had one fight in two years so of course I wanted to get the rounds in, be active, it's all part and parcel of being an active fighter. It means I'll be sharp, match fit for whoever it might be next."

Should Joshua get through Prenga on Saturday, it's likely a fight between Fury and Joshua will be officially announced, with a November date on Netflix set to be confirmed.