Tyson Fury has stated his fight with Deontay Wilder almost didn’t make it over the line, thanks to US Immigration.
The former heavyweight champion was strip-searched upon arrival in the United States and held for hours until entry.
Explaining his ordeal, Fury revealed how officers didn’t like the look of him when he landed on American soil.
“We started this in February 2016. There were meetings, lot and lots of meetings, at the US embassy,” Fury told The Daily Mail.
“We got through it. But then, when I arrived in America, they (the immigration officers) took me away to a back room. I asked a lot of questions, and I was strip-searched.
“Why? I don’t really know. I don’t have any criminal record, but I still struggled to get a visa. They said they thought I looked like a shady character.
“There was some talk of what went off when I went to see one of Wilder’s fights in New York and that I might cause a riot.
“As we all know, these people have the right to do whatever they want. If they say it’s Tuesday, it’s Tuesday.
“The fight could have been off. That would have been nice. But after more than four hours, they let me in,” he added.
Fury went on to train at Big Bear in California before moving to Freddie Roach’s world-famous Wild Card Gym.
Roach will act as cutman for Fury as ‘The Gypsy King’ bids to dethrone Wilder of his World Boxing Council belt.
Victory for Fury would make history following an amazing comeback from the 30 year-old, who once weighed close to 400 pounds in 2017.
