Thailand Fury Files, day two: Reality bites regarding Tyson Fury-Mariusz Wach

PATTAYA, Thailand – Today was the day the reality of Tyson Fury-Mariusz Wach finally hit me.

It was weigh-in day here in Pattaya and I thought I’d head to the official procedures that were taking place at 10am down at the ISS Boxing Club, where Fury has made a home for himself in recent times. It didn't take long to realise just how much Fury has become part of the furniture here. A six-foot photograph of him hitting the pads with gym owner "Sifu" Robert McInnes greets you as soon as you walk through the doors. I was hoping to get the official weights before the ceremonial weigh-in later that day. Everyone was there but the big man was nowhere to be seen. I was informed by a commissioner that Fury wouldn’t be weighing in until later on. It wasn't all for nothing, though. I did at least leave with a rather nice gym t-shirt.

I then attended the official weigh-in at the Lay Beach Club, a strange setting, but this was Tyson Fury of course. Cocktail in hand (non-alcoholic, before anyone asks), we settled in before the heavens opened. The Netflix crew who had come to town to record content for the third season of At Home With The Furys were forced to quickly cover their cameras from the rain. We then made our way back to the hotel on golf buggies where the weigh-in would now take place.

This is when doubts over the contest started.

Earlier in the week, the promoter of the event Spencer Brown had told me the entire event had been put together in just three weeks. Fury had already been living and training in Thailand before then, but it suddenly dawned on me that Wach couldn't possibly have had a proper camp. The scales backed it up, 291.4lbs – 17lbs heavier than he had been against Viktor Vykhryst only four months earlier.

Fury then arrived in a Versace robe bearing a Netflix logo on the front and At Home With The Furys embroidered across the back, before weighing in at a relatively lean 275lbs. The pair then joked throughout their final face-off, and it felt less like two men about to fight for victory and more like a veteran collecting one final payday while helping another prepare for a much bigger contest later this year.

I'd spoken to Wach the day before and his words rang even truer as he stood smiling while Fury playfully tickled his belly.

“I think it's a great honor. Tyson could have chosen any fighter in the world, but he chose me,” Wach had told me. “For me, it's a great honor and I'm happy about it. This fight could be a great test for his condition.”

Wach was just happy to be there, and Fury seemed to have a lot of respect for him, too. The Pole was once a decent contender when Fury was first making his way towards a shot at Wladimir Klitschko. Those days are gone, however.

The build-up to this bout, and the story behind it, will likely make good television for Netflix. Whether it makes a good fight remains to be seen.