Big John Fury has explained that he’s never taken any money from his son Tyson, despite him being one of the most bankable sports stars on the planet.
Heavyweight champ Tyson Fury has sold out venues around the world, from Las Vegas to Wembley Stadium, and has an unbeaten career that makes him one of the biggest draws in sport.
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Despite that, his outspoken dad says that he’s never been financially supported by him and even turned down a Rolls-Royce car that he was bought, all because of his principles.
Speaking on the Seconds Out podcast, Big John – who we should just all agree to call BJF – said: “I’ve not had $50 off Tyson – of all of them millions he’s had, I’ve not had £50 off him.
“The money I make, I make it myself.
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“Obviously, you wouldn’t want to talk to me if I wasn’t Tyson’s dad, but I’ve got to put my work in.
“If I don’t work myself, I don’t want any money – I don’t deserve any.
“I come from a working class family and I’ve always worked.
“As long as I’m working, I feel like it’s a just cause for me to get paid.
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“I don’t get paid a lot, I still drive my old scrap cars, I’m still in my same house, I’m still going to Oxfam for my clothes, I still sit with the lower end of society, because they’re nice people and I can relate to them.
“I can’t relate to the high society, them plastic people, they’re not for me.
“I wasn’t born into that society.
“If I was gonna be royal, I’d be related to the Queen, wouldn’t I?
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“I’m not, I don’t move out of my lane, I know my place.
“I’m an ordinary working lad from a travelling family that does the best he can for his family.
“I’m in a fortunate position – a proud position – because my two sons took my name into orbit.
“I was never going to do it was I?
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“All I knew was jail and getting punched about.”
Obviously, John’s celebrity has grown as he’s been associated with his son, and both are known for having the ability to sell a fight, sometimes even pushing the boundaries of decency with their comments.
However, John’s working class roots mean that he doesn’t want to engage with the trappings of wealth, nor does he want to be seen as a sponge.
He even explained that Tyson has tried to trick him with gifts before, but still he’s refused.
Joh continued: “I don’t want people to think I’m living off my son, which they all do.
“Let me tell you I don’t.
“He [came] to me the other day and said, ‘will you help me drive a car back, I’ve bought my wife a car’.
“I said, ‘that’s OK, I’ll help you son’.
“We go to this Rolls-Royce place anyway - £500,000 car – I said, ‘she doesn’t need that to go to school and do the school run Tyson, be real’.
“We had a little bit of an argument, and he said ‘no dad, that’s yours’.
“I was gobsmacked.
“I said ‘son’ – it took my time to answer, it took my about 10 or 15 seconds that time…
“I said ‘the offer is worth more to me than that vehicle’.
“'What you need to do is put the money back in your account, because I wouldn’t accept that, not for any money.'”
BJF explained: “'It’s not for me, I’m not a poser, I don’t want to try to be in anybody’s face, I don’t want to make people jealous, and – you know what Tyson - I could never ever afford a £500,000 car in my life, you know when it’s given, it’ll never feel the same way.'
“So I said thank you but no thank you.
“John Fury [doesn’t] take anything for nothing.”
“But I said, ‘you know what son, you bring a tear to my eye offering me stuff like that, because I know it’s sincere.’
“I don’t need gifts and expensive presents to know that they love me.
“A phone call does me.
“That’s priceless to me.”
You can watch the full podcast with the ever-intriguing John Fury here.
Topics: UK News, World News, Celebrity, Tyson Fury, Boxing, Money
Tom Wood