Tommy Fury's upcoming grudge fight with Jake Paul is now in doubt after the younger brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been denied entry to the United States. Fury, 22, was due to fly out to New York City for a press conference with Paul and reporter Ariel Helwani for their upcoming boxing bout on August 6 at Madison Square Garden.
But Fury has now revealed that he was turned away at Heathrow Airport after having his ESTA denied, with the fighter now at the British embassy in an attempt for the issue to be dealt with in order to fly out.
Fury will almost certainly not be available for the press conference tomorrow, with the fight now seemingly in doubt.
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Speaking on his Instagram, he said: "Me and my team arrived at Heathrow Airport ready to fly out and as soon as I entered the airport I was pulled to one side and told by Homeland Security officer that my ESTA had been denied and that I wasn't able to travel to the USA for a reason I apparently know.
"I can stand here and say I have done 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 I'm not allowed to travel and neither does my team or my lawyers.
"Now I've got to go to the embassy trying to resolve it and I'm in the middle of training. I don't know why this has happened a huge shock to me and my team. It's government issues and it's a lot bigger than the fight right now and I'm trying to get it sorted."
There have been months of negotiations, with Tommy fighting on the undercard of older brother Tyson's heavyweight championship victory against Dillian Whyte at Wembley in the meantime. That was a routine win against Daniel Bocianski and he will face another unbeaten opponent should this fight go ahead.
Paul previously issued an ultimatum to Fury on Twitter, calling the 22-year-old out by saying: " Tommy Fury, you pulled out last year. Then you agree to fight me now but your dad is trying to pull you out again? We’ve given you everything you asked for. $2 million purse. VADA testing. Tampons. You have 24 hours to clear this up or I will never give you this opportunity again."
This was all the motivation that Fury needed, with a response ten minutes later, saying: "See you august 6th pal." However, no official communications have come from an organiser, so these tweets should be taken with a pinch of salt, especially considering the cancellation of their previously scheduled fight.
But now, Fury is in a race against time to sort his ESTA application before the fight in six weeks time.
