Fury’s father could be denied entry to NZ
Immigration New Zealand has indicated Hughie Fury’s trainer and father Peter will need a special exemption and character waiver due to his extensive criminal history to enter this country should the WBO title fight against Joseph Parker be held here in April.
Parker’s promoters, Duco Events, are seeking sponsorship and working towards hosting the 25-year-old’s first world title defence in New Zealand against undefeated Brit Fury, cousin of former heavyweight champion Tyson.
But there could be a major hitch in the works for the Fury camp, with Immigration New Zealand confirming Peter would need to jump through several hoops to be granted a visa.
Peter was jailed for 10 years in 1995 for possession and intent to supply amphetamine. In 2008 he received another two years for drug-related money laundering.
Five years ago a court ordered him to pay back the assets and funds he had hidden from the court.
In 2013, Peter’s application for a visa into the United States was knocked back by authorities due to those two prison terms and he was forced to watch Tyson Fury’s fight against Steve Cunningham from Canada, rather than work from his nephew’s corner at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Immigration New Zealand is yet to receive an application from Peter to come here in April but pointed to section 15 of the act which states:
‘‘Any person sentenced to a term of imprisonment of five years or more, or to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more in the last 10 years, is an ‘excluded person’, and may not be granted a visa unless granted a special direction.
‘‘In accordance with immigration instructions, certain criminal convictions will mean that the person is normally ineligible for the grant of visa unless a character waiver is granted. When considering a ago. character waiver, each application is considered on its individual merits and taking into account factors such as the seriousness of an offence, number of offences and how long ago the event/s occurred.’’
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist, was denied a visa to enter New Zealand in 2012.
If Peter is denied entry to New Zealand it would be a major blow to his son’s hopes of defeating Parker.
Duco Events promoter David Higgins had not approached Immigration New Zealand but was confident Peter would not be denied a visa.
‘‘I think any of those issues may have been decades ago. He’s now just one of the world’s best boxing trainers who took Tyson Fury to victory against all odds over Wladimir Klitschko. That’s what he’s devoting himself to,’’ Higgins said.