World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on Tuesday was the subject of a police investigation following the boxer’s comments about homosexuality, amid media reports he has been stripped of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) title.
Greater Manchester Police said they have received a report of a “hate crime” regarding Fury’s comments, which were published in a newspaper interview before his victory over Wladimir Klitschko in a heavyweight title fight on Nov. 28.
Fury said that among the things that need to happen “before the devil comes home ... is homosexuality being legal in countries.”
Photo: AFP
“Greater Manchester Police take every allegation of hate crime extremely seriously and we will be attending the victim’s address to take a statement in due course,” police said.
The BBC reported late on Tuesday that the IBF has stripped Fury of his title less than two weeks after winning it, quoting Lindsey Tucker, championships chairman at the IBF, as saying: “It’s true he’s been stripped of his IBF belt.”
“Our challenger was Vyacheslav Glazkov, but instead Fury’s gone and signed a rematch clause with Wladimir Klitschko,” Tucker was quoted as saying.
Fury’s profile has soared since his shock win over Klitschko to capture the WBA, IBF and WBO belts. Remarks that previously went under the radar are now being questioned.
Before the Klitschko fight, Fury also said doping should be legalized in all sports to make it “fully fair.”
He was fined ￡3,000 (US$4,500) in 2012 for an outburst that included branding two fellow English boxers “gay lovers.”
Such is the consternation in Britain about Fury’s remarks that more than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling for Fury to be removed from the shortlist for the BBC’s sports personality of the year award.
“Young people need sports personalities that they can look up to, not people who express outrageous homophobic views, which can cause bullying and self-harm,” the petition says.
The BBC is refusing to deselect Fury from the 12-person shortlist.
Asked by reporters two days after beating Klitschko if he needs to keep his controversial views to himself now that he is heavyweight champion, the 27-year-old Fury said: “There’ll be no change in the champ.”
Fury has also said he was “not bothered” about being a role model to kids.
Fury is of Irish-Gypsy heritage — he calls himself “Gypsy King” on Twitter — and comes from a bloodline of bare-knuckle champions.
He said he was the most charismatic boxer since Muhammad Ali, making headlines for dressing up as Batman in the run-up to the Klitschko fight.
He sang Aerosmith’s I don’t Want to Miss a Thing to his pregnant wife in the ring after the unanimous points win in Duesseldorf.
“Let’s not try and make me out to be some evil person and I hate gays, because I don’t hate anybody,” Fury told the BBC on Monday. “I can actually say I don’t hate anybody.”
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