‘Complete idiot’ punched Tommy Fury ‘bare knuckle’ in the ribs, claims John Fury

'A man of 16 or 17 stone with his bare knuckle, punched him in the ribs and broke his ribs.'

John Fury has claimed that a 17 stone 'complete idiot' broke his son Tommy's ribs with a 'bare knuckle' punch and caused him to pull out of his fight against Jake Paul. The former Love Islander was forced to cancel his eagerly-anticipated bout against Paul on December 18 after suffering from a rib injury and a chest infection. TNT has spoken about his disappointment that the fight won't go ahead, but insisted that he was keen on rescheduling the bout in the new year. His father John has since revealed that while Tommy had been battling with a chest infection for about six or seven weeks, it was a bare knuckle punch that completely ruled him out of the fight. Fury told Behind The Gloves: "He's had a bacterial chest infection for about six or seven weeks, but that didn't bother us, we were going to battle through that. "But owing to a complete idiot in the gym, punched him in the ribs. A man of 16 or 17 stone with his bare knuckle, punched him in the ribs and broke his ribs. "At the end of the day, I was horrified, we were going to try and battle through it, because when we got him x-rayed they said, 'No, it's just bruised, it's ligament damage'. "And then, he was sparring and he couldn't throw a punch, he couldn't move. He said, 'Look, I'm in bad pain dad'." The Irishman also stated that Tommy's disappointment was 'immense', but that they would bounce back quickly. He added: "He said to Tyson, 'I'm in bad pain, I can't move'. So, I took him to a specialist in Manchester, they x-rayed him properly and the finding was there. "Broke ribs, what can you do? Chest infection, broke ribs, it's unfortunate, it's cost a lot of money, people have lost a lot of money, the disappointment is immense for Tommy and us. "But, we'll bounce back, we're fighters, if you want to reschedule, that's not a problem." Following Tommy's withdrawal from the fight, Paul has agreed to fight Tyron Woodley once again, whom he defeated in August. However, John, who is also Tommy's coach, has called on Paul to fight his son in March - threatening to take matters into his own hands if the demand is not met. "He sucked the life out of the Fury name for three months, he's had his money's worth," said John. "But I'll tell you what Jake Paul; if you're any kind of a man at all mate, let's renegotiate this fight for March or I'll come to America and give you and your brother a good hiding. "I'll slap the pair of you with my backhand, I told you. Don't keep mentioning me, be careful what you wish for pal. "Because there's no other fight out there. Who's going to generate big money? Only Tommy Fury." As well as criticising Tommy for pulling out of the fight, Paul has also goaded Tyson - sending him a voice-recorded private message to let him know what he thought of his brother. Related links:

• Tommy Fury reveals he was ‘throwing up from the pain’ before cancelling Jake Paul fight
• Jake Paul sends fiery DM to Tyson Fury hours after brother Tommy pulls out of fight
• Tommy Fury issues statement after backing out of Jake Paul fight