Former professional boxer John Fury has not been able to enter the USA for years. It all started over 20 years ago when Fury was involved in a feud with an ex-friend for a petty matter. The feud escalated to physical violence and permanent damage. Fury spent years in US prison and has not seen the face of the nation since his release.
John Fury is the father of Tyson Fury and Tommy Fury. John’s professional boxing record was 8-4. He even tried a hand at bare-knuckle fighting. However, his most infamous fight is the one he had with an ex-friend at a car auction.
According to the Manchester Evening News, John gouged the eye out of Oathie Sykes in 2010. It was the conclusion of a 12-year-running feud regarding a bottle of beer. The two men happened to bump into each other at a car auction and it descended into chaos.
Sykes gave a very graphic detail about how John hurt him. He said to the court, according to Bleacher Report, “It was his finger, it went in my eye, in the corner and he wouldn’t stop, he was like gouging and poking and twisting and poking, all of a sudden I heard this sound, a clicking like, a popping noise and when he took his hand away I realized blood was in his hand, a lot of blood.”
John pleaded for leniency citing his son, Tyson’s boxing career. He wanted the judge to believe that Tyson’s boxing career would crumble without him. However, the judge was not convinced as he received an 11-year prison sentence.
John Fury was blocked from entering the USA for Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder in 2018
John Fury went to prison in 2011 and served four years of his 11-year sentence. He was released in February 2015. As a result of his crime, he has essentially been banned from entering the USA.
John’s son Tyson was on an unbelievable 27-0 run before setting up to face then-WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in 2018. The bout was to take place at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, US. Tyson’s whole family including his brother traveled to the US. However, his cornerman and father John was denied a visa and blocked from entering the country.
“There’s a slight problem because I’m not allowed to go into the country,” John told the Daily Mail at the time. “I’ve been a naughty boy and there is no point hiding it. I’m not allowed in the country… My life is perfect at the minute – the only thing I’m upset about is that I can’t go to America and be there with him.”
The bout ended in a split draw. It became the only match Tyson did not win in his career. Wilder successfully retained his WBC Heavyweight title.