Tommy Fury was absent from his press conference with Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia because of a "private and personal matter".
Love Island star Fury was supposed to be in Riyadh on Wednesday evening to attend a press conference with Paul ahead of their grudge fight on February 26. Paul revealed last week that Fury wouldn't be flying to the Middle East for the event, claiming the Brit needed more time to train for the fight. Fury's promoter, George Warren, was speaking on the boxer's behalf at the press conference and gave a different reason for his absence.
"Everything we are hearing from camp is that he is looking excellent in the gym. He sends his apologies for not being here in person, he is dealing with a private and personal matter at the moment. Make no mistake, he will be here in due time to publicise and promote the event. We are planning to bring him in around 10 days before the event," Warren said.
Paul mocked Fury by faking a back injury whilst boasting about "carrying" the promotion for their fight, admitting that he is "used to" his rival's behaviour after their two previous fight cancellations. Fury pulled out of a fight against Paul in December 2021 due to a bacterial infection and broken rib, with a rescheduled meeting last August also being cancelled after visa issues prevented him from travelling to the US.
"I'm used to his behaviour at this point, he's unprofessional and he's a flake," Paul said of Fury's absence from the press conference. "He's not a serious businessman or a serious fighter and I'm going to prove that. It's why this fight is called, 'The Truth', because the truth is going to come out. He's going to have to pay for all of the times he's pulled out.
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"All the business people he screwed over, it's disrespectful. There's some of the biggest names in boxing, the biggest promoters and most influential people in the world. One of the greatest countries in the world and he doesn't want to show up because of a 'private matter'. We all have private matters.
"When you sign up to do something, you make a commitment, that's what it should be about. It just shows me he's scared because he said he didn't need to train for this fight. Meanwhile, his first excuse was that he needed to train extra, but now it's a private matter. I love Tyson but it's typical from the dad [John] and Tommy."
