The Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury fight took another dramatic turn this week.
With the bout finally having been confirmed for August 6 at Madison Square Garden, the pair were due to appear in a press conference in New York on Wednesday. However, Fury claimed that he was denied entry into the U.S. on Monday, putting the press conference on hold.
"As soon as we entered [Heathrow] airport I got pulled to one side and I was told by the Homeland Security that my ESTA had been denied and I wasn’t able to travel to the USA for a reason that I apparently know,” Fury said in a video posted to Instagram.
Fury continued by saying he had "done absolutely nothing wrong" and doesn't know why he's been denied entry into the States.
“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," he said. "I don’t know why this has happened today, it’s a massive shock to me and my whole team. Obviously, it’s a matter that needs to be resolved. It’s government issues. It’s a lot bigger than the fight right now and I’m just trying to get it solved, but I just wanted to let you all know where it was at.”
Not surprisingly, Fury's opponent didn't appear to buy Fury's claims. The pair have been sniping at one another on social media for months, and Paul piled on the verbal assault after learning of the latest twist, calling the 23-year-old younger brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury "scared."
"Tommy, no matter how hard [you] try to get out of this fight, I’m going [to] do everything in my power [to] not let [you] weasel [your] way out," Paul tweeted on Tuesday. "My team & my partners have made it clear the steps [you] need to take [to] solve [your] latest excuse. Take them or admit [you're] a scared little b—."
Paul's Most Valuable Promotions confirmed the postponement of Wednesday's scheduled press conference, promising more information in the future.
"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," the promotion tweeted. "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."