Tyson and Tommy Fury’s dad once gouged out a man’s eye after a 12 year feud over a bottle of beer.
John Fury, 59, also a former professional heavyweight boxer, was sentenced to 11 years in jail in February 2011 for the “cold-blooded” attack at a car auction. He was eventually released in February 2015 – four years into the jail term – and later said: “He's lost an eye and I've lost five years of my life.”
John was back in the news this week after flipping over a table during a press conference with Tommy, who is set to come out of boxing retirement to fight YouTuber KSI.
KSI, who will face Tommy in Manchester on Saturday, 14 October, was heard mocking the Furys during the media event.
His business partner Logan Paul – who will be fighting Dillon Danis the same night – was also heard criticising the family before John kicked off.
John rose from his chair and cut off Logan mid speech, shouting, "The Furys are the best fighters in the world". He then knocked over microphones and flipped his table before kicking over KSI's table as well.
John said: “The Furys dominate. We are the best men in the world. We will fight anybody in our way.”
In recent weeks, fans have seen a softer side of John as he appeared in Tyson and Paris Fury’s new Netflix reality show At Home with the Furys.
The programme shows the 'busy household' of Tyson and Paris, who is pregnant with her seventh child, as they try to juggle normal family life with fame.
But the Furys' current lavish lifestyle is a long way away from how John grew up. He was born in Tuam, Galway, into a family rich in Traveller heritage and went on to become a professional boxer, making his debut in 1987.
His career lasted 13 bouts over eight years – though he is said to have also taken part in bareknuckle fights, claiming he once won £100,000 in one contest.
Outside of boxing, John had six children: Tyson, Tommy, Roman, Hughie, Shane and Romana, his only daughter, who tragically died shortly after being born. After he retired from boxing, John went on to become Tyson’s trainer.
But he missed some of Tyson’s crucial fights while behind bars for the car auction attack.
Manchester Crown Court heard how John and the victim had been pals but had a violent bust-up over a bottle of beer during a trip to Cyprus in 1999. When they met again at the car auction in 2010, the victim claimed John said to him: “What about me and you finishing that fight?”
The court was told how, moments before shoving his finger into the victim’s right eye, John declared himself the country’s toughest man. The victim was left half-blind as a result of the attack and John was handed the 11-year sentence after admitting wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Sentencing, Judge Henshell said John had been ‘cold-blooded’ in inflicting the ‘catastrophic injury’.
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