John Fury, father of Tommy and Tyson Fury, isn’t entertaining any of Jake Paul’s antics. The reaction comes after confirmation that ‘The Problem Child’ will now face Anthony Joshua on December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, live on Netflix. The matchup was finalized following the cancellation of Paul’s planned exhibition with Gervonta Davis, which fell apart due to a lawsuit filed against Davis by his ex-girlfriend. Regardless, it’s Jake Paul himself who has sparked John Fury’s latest outburst.

After the Anthony Joshua confirmation, Jake Paul hopped on X to write a scathing message. While the target for the message wasn’t mentioned, it was clear who Paul was aiming for—Tommy Fury. “Guess who didn’t say yes even for $15M,” Paul wrote while thanking every fighter who said yes. “B—h made you and your father are, who controls everything you do. You are not a man. You are a boy. Daddy’s little boy.” Now, John Fury has responded, and he didn’t have many nice things to say about Paul. 

John Fury claims Tommy Fury is ready to fight in Canada

In a video shared on Instagram, John Fury fired back at Jake Paul’s tweet almost immediately. “We’re not running from you. You know, we offered to box you right next door to you, Canada,” he said. “Because we can’t get to America, and you knew we couldn’t get there, offering 15 million.” John Fury has long been banned from entering the United States due to his 2011 conviction for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. 

In a 2010 fight at a car auction, he gouged out another man’s eye, which resulted in an 11-year prison sentence. The violent conviction continues to keep him from obtaining a U.S. visa, preventing him from attending major events, including Tyson Fury’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. Nevertheless, John Fury pressed on, reminding Paul of a previous wager. “Stand on to your offer for 15 million, we’ll box you anywhere in the world, but I know it ain’t gonna happen because you’re not a stand-on man, are you?”

“Because we’ve had this before. Did we not bet you three million dollars on national TV in front of the world’s media, and what did you do? You welshed, you didn’t pay,” he added. Prior to Tommy Fury’s win over Paul in February 2023, both camps agreed to a double-or-nothing purse bet. John Fury insists Jake Paul still hasn’t delivered. “You give us a middle finger. Like your other mate, KSI, he bet me 200,000 pounds in front of the world’s media. He never paid.”

“So really, Jake, we can’t take your word for nothing, can we? … I told you, put it all in writing, send it to our lawyer. Within 10 weeks, we can be there in the ring with you, anywhere in the world except America… So you offering this and offering that don’t mean squat diddly, does it? … Back in the old days, my pal, you’d be called odd pig to a devil. A Welsher, not a man,” John Fury concluded in the video.

However, while John Fury cannot enter America, his sons clearly can. Tyson Fury fought Deontay Wilder in the U.S. multiple times without his father present. So why couldn’t Tommy do the same? John Fury’s response ends up indirectly reinforcing Paul’s criticism. With Jake Paul’s rise since the Tommy Fury loss—and the fact that Paul scored a knockdown in their first fight—it’s not surprising the Fury camp appears wary of running it back now.

Still, the question is, who else was offered the fight against Jake Paul? 

Terence Crawford had accepted the challenge to fight ‘El Gallo’ Paul

Terence Crawford was closer than anyone realized to stepping into the ring with Jake Paul. According to Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian, Crawford had fully accepted the challenge to face ‘El Gallo’ Paul before the Anthony Joshua deal was finalized. “As soon as we knew we were going to move away from Gervonta Davis, we had a list of opponents. And the three names Jake gravitated towards were Ryan Garcia, Terence Crawford, and Anthony Joshua,” Bidarian revealed. 

He added that “there were probably 30 fighters who [agreed] to fight Jake. AJ being one of them, Crawford being another, and AJ is the one that we came to an agreement on.” When pressed specifically about Crawford’s willingness, Bidarian made it clear, “Yes, 100%.” While a Paul-Crawford showdown now appears destined for the future, Jake first turns his attention to Joshua, a two-time unified heavyweight champion with massive size and experience advantages.

Having said that, it appears the fear of losing the fight has made Tommy Fury and his father back away from a hefty payday. But that might have been good for the sport, as Anthony Joshua is a much bigger fight for Jake Paul. Do you think Tommy Fury is afraid of Jake Paul?