John Fury believes his son Tommy's fight with Jake Paul will "never happen" and could suffer a similar fate to Tyson's clash with Anthony Joshua.
Fury is in talks with YouTube star Paul over finally settling their rivalry at the third time of asking, but the fight hangs in the balance after he missed his rival's deadline. The pair have twice come close to meeting with the first attempt ended by Fury suffering a broken rib.
The hotly-anticipated clash was then cancelled for a second time when Fury was prevented from travelling to the US. And Fury's father John has insisted Paul is reluctant to take the fight over fear of losing to his son and jeopardising his undefeated career.
"The kid doesn't want to fight Tommy," Fury Sr told Mirror Fighting courtesy of FreeBets.com when discussing the stalling clash. "I think this is going to be a case of the fight that never happens. It is another Tyson AJ this fight, one man wants to fight the other doesn't. I don't think it is about the money, I just think he doesn't want to lose to Tommy.
"Tommy will knock him out, he had to put his brakes on in that exhibition, the guy [Rolly Lambert] had done us a favour at late notice. Only people know who have been training in camp with Tommy like his sparring partners know how devastating Tommy can hit, he hits very hard. Jake Paul I just think he is terrified of us. They won’t pay Tommy what he is worth, he thinks he is A-side, the Fury's are the biggest name in boxing. He is a YouTuber, he has made his money from other avenues.
"Whatever it is with gloves on, we are in the lead because we are pugilists. You could offer him a million dollars, he doesn’t want to fight Tommy. Listen, I'm afraid it is going to be the fight that never happens. He is not the A-side, he has a few followers on Instagram and we carry a lot more weight in the boxing world."
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Fury's other son Tyson has had a similar rivalry with British rival Joshua, but the pair have yet to touch gloves. The rivals looked set to meet last year for the undisputed crown but the fight collapsed when Fury was ordered to face Deontay Wilder.
This year, Fury offered a shot to defeated star Joshua for his WBC title but after his rival missed his contract deadline, the fight was called off and he will instead face Derek Chisora in London next weekend. The 'Gypsy King' has recently dismissed the chances of him finally facing "coward" AJ.
"No, there's no glamour in fighting a coward [Joshua], none,” Fury said in an interview on the Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel. "I don't fight cowards; I only fight real men. So, to say that's a glamour fight? No way. My glamour fight was fighting the 43-0 Deontay Wilder in America."
