By: Sean Crose
” So, I just want to come on here and set the record straight before anybody else tries to.”
So says Tommy Fury, scheduled opponent of Jake Paul and brother of heavyweight kingpin Tyson Fury, in a video posted to social media Tuesday.
“Me and my team this morning arrived at Heathrow Airport ready for the press conference, ready to fly out, he continued. “And as soon as I entered the airport I got pulled to one side and I was told by the Homeland Security officer that was there that my ESTA had 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’ve 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.”
Fury is set to fight Jake Paul in a pay per view event to be broadcast live from Madison Square Garden on August 6th. He and his team were scheduled to attend a press conference promoting the bout that was to be held in New York City tomorrow.
Most Valuable Promotions, Paul’s promotional outlet, released the following on social media: “As a result of circumstances out of our control, the scheduled press conference for Wednesday at MSG has been postponed. We are working with our partners at SHOWTIME and Madison Square Garden and will share more information as soon as we are able.”
The outlet then posted that: “Despite many assurances by Tommy Fury and his team that he was able to come to the U.S., and knowing that Tommy was in California just last month, we were surprised to learn that he had an issue at Heathrow airport on Monday.”
Paul himself took to social media to respond to the strange turn of events. “Tommy,” he posted, “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 bitch. #TommyFumbles“
Although neither Fury nor Paul are particularly experienced fighters, they are both undefeated and have name recognition. Couple that with the fact that social media influencer turned boxer Paul has shown real dedication and ring ability (albeit fundamental at this early point in his boxing career) and the planned cruiserweight matchup with Fury is an intriguing one…if it now actually ends up happening at all.