Tommy Fury is resigned to the fact that his summertime business trip to the U.S. just isn’t in the cards.

The unbeaten light heavyweight from Manchester, England was hopeful of moving forward with renewed plans for a grudge match with content creator and cruiserweight novice Jake Paul. The bout was due to take place August 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The fight was in jeopardy once Fury learned that his ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authority) document was denied as he was turned away at London’s Heathrow Airport on June 28.

The development canceled plans for a June 30 press conference, Paul (5-0, 4KOs) and his Most Valuable Promotions company refused to allow the Brit to once again hold up his fight plans. Paul has opted to move on, with Fury now set for what now appears to be a legal battle to help clear up his travel issues.

“I’m gutted and disappointed in regards to the issues I have faced with entry into the USA,” Fury noted in a statement released Tuesday through his verified social media channels. “This is something that myself or my team could have never anticipated happening.

“This situation has been left with my lawyers as being denied entry to a country is obviously a very serious issue and it needs to subsequently be resolved.”

The two were due to collide last December 18 atop a Showtime Pay-Per-View event from AMALIE Arena in Tampa. Fury withdrew less than two weeks prior to the bout after suffering a bronchial infection and rib injury, leaving Paul to secure Tyron Woodley in a rematch to their August 29 battle that Paul won via eight-round decision.

The rematch ended in far more conclusive fashion, with Paul flattening Woodley with a right hand in the sixth round. Paul vowed to take a lengthy break from the ring, to instead focus on his brand and the managerial side.

That included his role in furthering the career of seven-division titlist Amanda Serrano, who appeared as the co-feature to both Paul-Woodley bouts. The Puerto Rican southpaw has since headlined her own show, dropping a contested ten-round, split decision to Ireland’s Katie Taylor in their April 30 undisputed lightweight championship at MSG. The superfight marked the first-ever female bout to headline at the famed venue, drawing a live gate of $1,450,180.60 from a sold-out crowd of 19,187, all bearing witness to Taylor’s narrow, split decision win over Serrano in the leading candidate for 2022 Fight of the Year.

Serrano (42-2-1, 30KOs) will now return to featherweight, where she will defend her WBC/WBO/IBO titles against interim WBO titlist Brenda Karen Carabajal. The bout is the advertised co-main event for the August 6 show, further motivating Paul to keep the date intact which means moving on to the next in line.

BoxingScene.com has learned that Hasim Rahman, Jr.—the son of former lineal heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman Sr.—will land the plum assignment versus Paul, confirming a breaking news scoop from SI.com senior writer Chris Mannix. The bout is expected to be announced Wednesday, while Fury figures out how he became the latest member of his family to be denied entry into the U.S.

Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23KOs), Tommy’s older half-brother and the reigning lineal/WBC heavyweight champion—was turned away by Homeland Security while attempting to fly to the U.S. from the U.K. in mid-June. His situation is believed to be linked to his past ties with Daniel Kinahan, Fury’s former boxing adviser who is better known to authorities as an accused Irish crime lord.

Kinahan was sanctioned in April by the U.S. Treasury Department along with his father and brother, Christy Sr. and Christy Jr., with the development impacting those who authorities can directly tied to the reputed figure. Fury is rumored to be part of a list of up to 600 people who are unable to travel to the US as a result.

John Fury, Tommy’s father and head trainer, In addition to Tyson Fury’s current situation, John Fury, Tommy’s father and head trainer, is not allowed in the U.S. due to a conviction in 2011 for gouging out the eyes of longtime nemesis Oathie Sykes at the end of a bitter feud that extended back to 1999.

The family patriarch was not in the corner for Tommy’s stateside debut last August in a win over Anthony Taylor, but was on site for Fury’s six-round win over Daniel Bocianski this past April 23 at Wembley Stadium, where Tyson scored a sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte to defend his championship in the main event. Neither John nor Tyson Fury were expected to be in the corner on August 6 given their travel woes.

It’s now clear that Tommy Fury also won’t be in the corner or in the MSG ring at all that night.

That said, Fury is not giving up on his dream of settling his differences with Paul.  

“I am confident this fight will happen when this issue gets resolved and we come to a solution,” insisted Fury. “I want to clarify that I will fight in a neutral country that both parties can enter. This can be any time, any place, any where [sic].”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox