TYSON FURY — traveller and showman extraordinaire — starred in a Netflix episode 6,000 miles from home and in front of about 1,500 people.
The Gypsy King of contradictions, 37, used 46-year-old Mariusz Wach as a Polish punching bag to book his blockbuster showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Tyson Fury’s fight with Mariusz Wach was a unique experience for viewers Credit: AFP
In Pattaya, the world’s sex capital, barely anyone saw it Credit: Alamy
In Pattaya — the sex capital of the world — the exhausted veteran was the softest touch within a 20-mile radius.
But it was mission accomplished for the 6ft 9in switch-hitting former world heavyweight champ.
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For everyone else, though, this was one of the strangest fight weeks in British boxing.
Because while one of Britain’s biggest sporting names was lacing up his gloves, almost nobody knew it was happening.
There was no television broadcast. No pay-per-view. No DAZN. No Sky Sports. Nothing.
Unless you were inside the intimate Max Muay Thai Stadium, practically on top of the ring, Fury’s latest fight simply did not exist.
That made the whole week feel surreal.
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Nobody showed the bout on TV Credit: AFP
With no television coverage and barely any media making the journey for this showdown, it quickly became clear just how unusual this assignment was.
The Jattvibe was the ONLY British newspaper to travel the 18 hours, giving us exclusive access to a heavyweight fight almost nobody back home witnessed.
In an age where every Fury sneeze is filmed from six different angles, it felt bizarre watching one of the biggest names in world sport compete in front of a few thousand fans, knowing there would not be a single live picture being broadcast anywhere on the planet.
Instead, the fans and YouTubers inside the arena became the eyes and ears for everyone back home.
Netflix were essentially filming an episode of At Home With the Furys, Wach just happened to be the guest star.
The fight itself was exactly what Fury had hoped for.
He switched between orthodox and southpaw, peppered Wach with jabs, rolled away from danger and banked seven rounds.
Whenever Wach tried to make it ugly, Fury simply smiled, tied him up or boxed back into control.
At one point, he even kissed his opponent during a clinch, drawing one of the biggest laughs of the night.
There were no dramatic knockdowns or desperate moments.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, though.
The Jattvibe was the only UK newspaper to go out to Thailand for it Credit: Instagram @jo.aujla
The Gypsy King continued his war of words with Anthony Joshua Credit: Getty
Wach managed to smack a couple of right hands into Fury’s mug to remind everyone he was still there.
But it was still an easy night’s work for the Gypsy King before the ringside doctor finally stepped in to stop the contest.
Only then did the Fury everyone knows return.
Still wiping the sweat from his face in the changing room, he immediately turned his attention towards Joshua.
In sticking with the local hobbies and lingo, Fury roared: “Tell AJ to go suck me big Gypsy b******* and go suck a pair of t*** while he’s at it. The useless c***.”
Moments later came another promise, from the Mancunian: “He’s getting chinned.”
It was vintage X-rated Fury.
One minute, the father of seven was vowing to race home to his wife and kids — the next, he was planning a private jet to Jeddah.
In one breath, he and AJ were a done deal and, in the next, the Watford fighter was going to lose his bottle and be a no-show.
One of my main memories of the week had nothing to do with boxing.
It came after I was pulled aside at passport control on the way in.
As a young Sikh man travelling alone, I spent almost as much time explaining why I keep my beard long as I did having my passport stamped.
Trying to communicate was harder than understanding the travelling, smashed Brits trying to slur a sentence out to the locals.
Fury’s traveller supporters arrived hammered, watched the fight and then got even more drunk, something that caught the Thais’ attention as they embraced the classic “Ohhh Britannia” lads culture.
Fury will go to Jeddah to watch AJ Credit: Getty
He had a comfortable warm up Credit: Getty
With my own wedding only weeks away, I certainly wasn’t joining the tourists charging around Pattaya after midnight.
I couldn’t risk creating a bootleg version of The Hangover Part II.
While others headed off to enjoy the city’s famous nightlife, I was reminded there was another side to Pattaya.
The streets may have been wild after dark but the locals were incredibly polite, welcoming and always willing to help.
Having Fury fight in Thailand and Joshua box in Saudi Arabia on consecutive nights was certainly a novelty but British boxing definitely missed them both.
As unique as the experience was, it was impossible not to think the country’s two biggest heavyweight stars belonged under the bright lights back home.
While others headed off to enjoy the city’s famous nightlife, I was doing everything possible not to get divorced before I had even made it down the aisle.
At around 2.30am, after filing my copy from the arena, I jumped on the back of a motorbike taxi for the ten-minute ride back to my hotel.
The fare came to just 67p. How mad is that?
Back in London, you would struggle to buy a packet of crisps for that.
Then, almost as quickly as it had all begun, it was time to pack up again. Thailand was over.
Next stop . . . Jeddah.
Because Fury had held up his end of the bargain to leave the ball in Joshua’s court.
The week was unforgettable but calling it wild would be the understatement of the year.
