Fans fearing the worst as Tommy Fury denied entry to America for press conference
- Planet Sport writer
- 29 June 2022
Tommy Fury has been denied entry into the United States where he was set to preview his upcoming fight against Jake Paul.
The 23-year-old younger half-brother of Tyson Fury is set to face YouTube celebrity Paul on August 6 after their initial fight was called off last year.
Fury posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday, recorded on Monday evening, where he explained the situation - claiming he has "no clue" as to why his application to enter the United States has been rejected.
"So I just want to come on here and set the record straight before anybody else tries to, me and my team this morning arrived at Heathrow airport ready for the press conference, ready to fly out," he said.
"As soon as I entered the airport I got pulled to one side and I was told by a Homeland Security officer that was there, that my ESTA has been denied and I wasn't able to travel to the USA for a reason that I apparently know.
"I can stand here and say I have done absolutely nothing wrong and I have no clue why I'm not allowed to travel to the USA.
"I've been training for a fight this whole time and that's all I've been doing. I have no clue why they will not allow me to travel today and neither does any of my team or my lawyers.
"So now I'm having to go to the embassies and all this sort of stuff, trying to resolve it and I'm in the middle of training, guys, I don't know why this has happened today - it is a massive shock to me and my whole team.
"Obviously it is a matter that needs to be resolved, it is government issues, it's a lot bigger than the fight right now and I'm trying to get it sorted but I just wanted to let you all know where it was at."
The issue casts doubt on the rearranged bout, set for Madison Square Garden in August, after a rib injury had seen Fury pull out of their scheduled fight last December.
It was claimed earlier this month that Tyson Fury had also been denied access to the United States over alleged links to US crime boss Daniel Kinahan, although the WBC world heavyweight champion has distanced himself from those connections.
Meanwhile, Paul took to Twitter to continue his ongoing spat with Fury, writing: "Tommy, no matter how hard u try to get out of this fight, I'm going 2 do everything in my power 2 not let u weasel ur way out.
"My team & my partners have made it clear the steps u need to take 2 solve ur latest excuse. Take them or admit ur a scared little b***h. #TommyFumbles".
