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Tommy Fury will make the sort of money an eight-fight novice can only usually dream of when he takes on Jake Paul in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The bout can be derisively described as a Love Island contestant versus the guy off the Disney Channel, but the boxing world is certainly paying attention to a simmering grudge quite unlike anything we've ever seen in professional prizefighting.
From heavyweight icon Mike Tyson to unified lightweight king Devin Haney and football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, the great and the good will be flocking to ringside to see if Fury can do right by his family name and get the job done.
They are a family that tends to bring a unique flavour to proceedings, irrespective of the occasion.
Here, we take a spin through the wider clan of a traveller family enamoured with the sweet science. It’s time to meet the Furys.
MORE: Is Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury good or bad for boxing?
Is Tyson Fury Tommy Fury's brother?
Undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is Tommy's half-brother, as he and the 23-year-old cruiserweight share a father (more on him later).
If Tommy has done little to convince onlookers that he has what it takes to become an elite boxer, there can be no doubt that Tyson is the master of all he surveys in the sport at present.
First crowned champion when he put on a clinic to dethrone long-reigning heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, Fury then spent almost three years out of the ring as he battled problems with alcohol, drugs and depression.
After a couple of forgettable tune-up fights, Fury jumped in with feared knockout artist Deontay Wilder and rose from the canvas in the final round to claim a draw in a captivating contest.
His second and third fights with Wilder did not go that far as Fury demolished the Bronze Bomber over seven brutal rounds in Las Vegas in February 2020 before again getting off the floor to batter Wilder into submission in the penultimate session 20 months later.
In 2022, Fury lapped up the acclaim on stadium homecoming shows against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, although the one-sided nature of those contests, along with the collapse of negotiations with long-time rival Anthony Joshua, means there is increased clamour for him to face IBF, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
That was a fight that also looked likely to land in Saudi Arabia at one point, although talks for an April 29 date at Wembley are ominously dragging on.
Who is Tommy Fury’s father?
John Fury was born in Ireland but grew up in Manchester, England. A veteran of bare-knuckle fighting, ‘Gypsy John’ gloved up for a moderate career under the Queensberry Rules between 1987 and 1991, with his final fight of that run a KO loss to future WBO heavyweight champion Henry Akinwande.
Fury Sr. returned to the ring four years later for a final defeat to Steve Garber, hanging his gloves up with a record of eight wins (one KO), four defeats and a draw.
In 2011, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for gouging out a man’s eye in a brawl at a car auction. That put his work guiding Tyson’s early career on hold but he was released in 2015 after serving four years and went on to become an increasingly notorious presence around his son's fights.
John Fury made an outspoken and impassioned address to media upon Tyson’s homecoming from dethroning Klitschko. He has been a voluble member of Team Fury ever since, frequently offering to have fights with all-comers, most recently when he stripped to the waist and goaded Jake Paul in Dubai. None of these proposed scraps have come to fruition for the 58-year-old.
“Tyson Fury’s dad’s an idiot,” Dillian Whyte told iFL TV after an altercation in the build-up to his fight with Fury at Wembley earlier this year. “I was like, ‘Bro, you’re 100 years old, you’re stepping forward. If John Fury wants, he can have a fight with my dad, and my dad's older than him."
But John Fury is not merely in Saudi Arabia as chief mouthpiece. He is also chief trainer to his son Tommy ahead of the most high-profile assignment of a fledgling boxing career.
Does Peter Fury train Tyson Fury?
John Fury’s brother, Peter, also has a criminal past in the Manchester underworld as a notorious drugs baron. He was jailed for 10 years in 1995 for possession and intent to supply before being hit with a subsequent two-year sentence in 2008 for money laundering.
Upon his release, he channelled his focus into boxing training, having fought and lost once professionally. The first 16 fights of Tyson Fury’s professional career were guided by his late uncle Hughie, Peter and John’s brother. A link-up with Chris Johnson brought a third-round win over Neven Pajkic but Tyson was floored for the first time in his career by an overhand right.
It was time to take it back to the family and a fruitful union with Peter Fury got off and running when he beat Martin Rogan in Belfast in April 2012, boxing out of a southpaw stance and displaying improved footwork.
Peter was credited as the mastermind of his nephew’s superb win over Klitschko, although it would prove to be their final fight together. Tyson’s two-and-a-half-year absence from the ring followed, after which he linked up first with Ben Davison and then Sugar Hill Steward.
Speaking to Rob Moore's Disruptors Podcast in 2021, John Fury said he was "estranged" from Peter due to "boxing... that's the downside of it, but we won't go into that."
The 54-year-old remains an esteemed trainer, having guided the career of former WBO middleweight champion Savannah Marshall. His other most notable student comes from a lot closer to home.
Is Hughie Fury Tommy Fury’s brother?
Heavyweight contender Hughie Fury is Tyson and Tommy's cousin and trained by his father Peter.
The 28-year-old is a former British heavyweight champion and suffered a first career loss when he was outpointed by then-WBO ruler Joseph Parker in September 2017. The Parker bout was most notable for John Fury ranting and raving at the decision afterwards, branding the ringside judges "political b-------".
Hughie Fury has an overall record of 26-3 (15 KOs), having also come up short on similar steps up in class against Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin, although he has never been stopped.
Health issues have dogged Hughie’s career, with debilitating acne leaving him fatigued during and after fights for a number of years. He has not boxed since beating former Tyson foe Christian Hammer in October 2021, citing the effects of long-Covid.
What is Tommy Fury's pro boxing record?
Tommy Fury is an 8-0 (4 KOs) prospect, who last boxed competitively on his elder brother’s Wembley card in April. His record has been compiled against limited opposition.
A long-running spat outside the ring with Paul was already a dominant narrative by that point and it also framed his outing on Floyd Mayweather's exhibition card in Dubai last November, when he faced Rolly Lambert.
Tommy has been drawn towards the burgeoning world of celebrity and YouTube boxing since starring on reality television show Love Island in 2019, where he and his partner Molly-Mae Hague finished as runners-up.
Throughout his career, Tommy has boxed close to but not below the 175lbs light-heavyweight limit, which feels like the most natural home for him should he persevere with boxing. The likelihood of that would appear to hinge massively upon Sunday's outcome.
Which of Tommy Fury’s cousins box?
The Fury’s boxing lineage stretches beyond the family name. Tyson Fury counts Isaac Lowe and Hosea Burton among his cousins, former British champions at featherweight and light-heavyweight, respectively.
Nathan Gorman came up short in his second bid for the Lonsdale belt at heavyweight, losing to Fabio Wardley in a three-round shootout last month. Gorman is the great nephew of bare-knuckle boxing hero Bartley Gorman and is also part of the Fury clan.
Andy Lee, Ireland’s celebrated former WBO middleweight champion, hails from the same traveller community as the Furys. He and Tyson’s grandmothers were sisters.
Lee made the introductions between Fury and Steward, allowing their successful alliance to take flight for Tyson’s second fight with Deontay Wilder. He served as the assistant trainer in Fury’s corner in Las Vegas, continuing a family affair on arguably his cousin’s greatest night of all.
