As one of the most talked about and divisive characters in the sport of boxing, we have decided to look back at five of Tyson Fury’s most controversial moments. It’s safe to say ‘The Gypsy King’ has had his fair share of hairy moments both inside and outside of the ring over the years, and has been in hot water on more than one occasion.
The list includes some of the most highly controversial moments from throughout Fury’s career, including his comments about homosexuality, requesting to be withdrawn from the Sports Personality Of The Year list and his decent into drug and alcohol addiction. So without further ado, here are five of the most controversial moments from Tyson Fury throughout his boxing career.
*WARNING – CONTAINS LANGUAGE SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE*
5 Most Controversial Moments Of Tyson Fury’s Career
In no particular order, here are five of the most controversial moments in the life of Tyson Fury throughout his boxing career…
Fury Requests To be Withdrawn From BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year Award
Tyson Fury has been nominated in the shortlist for Sports Personality Of The Year on two occasions – firstly in 2015 and then again in 2022.
The first time around, Fury made a public apology after receiving hate for comments about homosexuality, abortion and sexism. This was just after he became the heavyweight champion of the world for the first time, defeating Wladimir Klitschko in Düsseldorf.
However, Fury’s request to be withdraw from the BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year award was in fact in 2022. Fury insisted he didn’t need validation from the BBC and didn’t want to appear on the list. He said:
“This is a message for BBC Sport and their SPOTY award – please take me off your list as I’m the people’s champion and have no need for verification or any awards.
“I know who I am and what I’ve done in the sport. I have the love of the people which means more to me than all the awards in the world. To anyone who supports me, don’t vote.”
Hi this is Tyson fury the gypsy king, this is a message for the @bbcsport and there spoty award, please take me off your list as I’m the people’s champion and have no need for verification or any awards. I know who I am & what iv done in sport. I have the love of the people… pic.twitter.com/iwNYblTZG4
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) December 2, 2020
The BBC ended up keeping Fury on the list, with ‘The Gypsy King’ receiving the fourth highest amount of votes, just missing out on an award.
This is just one of the many things Fury has said throughout his career that is a little bit controversial.
Comments About Fellow SPOTY Nominee Jessica Ennis-Hill
Another high profile incident involving ‘The Gypsy King’ was regarding his comments towards fellow SPOTY nominee in 2015 – Jessica Ennis-Hill.
This comment from Fury sparked outrage on social media, with thousands of people calling for the heavyweight boxer to be stripped of his Sports Personality Of The Year nomination. Again, the BBC did not axe the Morecambe man from the list, but there was a lot of hate directed Fury’s way because of it.
Prior to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards show in 2015, Fury was asked about his views on fellow nominee, the athletics superstar, Jessica Ennis-Hill. His response, once again, was controversial and deemed to be sexist my thousands of people.
“That’s the runner, isn’t it? She’s good, she’s won quite a few medals, she slaps up good as well. When she’s got a dress on she looks quite fit,” said Fury about Ennis-Hill, getting himself in quite a lot of bother unsurprisingly.
This is yet another one of the many comments that put the spotlight on Fury for all of the wrong reasons, with the Englishman having to apologise for his comments again. This has become a recurring theme in Fury’s career, having to apologise for things he has said in the past, perhaps without thinking before he spoke.
Sexist Comments About Women and Female Boxers
Arguably one of the highest profile controversies surrounding Tyson Fury was his comments about female boxers and women in general a few years ago. Again, Fury did make these comments over five years ago, but has since learned to keep his mouth shut and not make comments which he may find amusing, but that the vast majority of people do not.
This wasn’t the first time Fury was cancelled for sexist comments, as we have already investigated with his comments about Jessica Ennis-Hill.
This time he made this comment about female boxers and women in general:
“I think they’re very nice when they’re walking around that ring, holding them cards. I like them actually. They give me inspiration when I’m tired. I’m all for it. I’m not sexist. I believe a woman’s best place is in the kitchen and on her back. That’s my personal belief. Making me a good cup of tea, that’s what I believe.”
This comment sparked outrage on social media up and down the country, with many people seeing Fury as a misogynist. Of course we aren’t inside the mind of ‘The Gypsy King’ and these comments could have been made with intended sarcasm, but as Fury has learned the hard way, if you aren’t going to say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
Fury’s Comments About Homosexuality & Abortion
The fourth controversial comment from ‘The Gypsy King’ that we are highlighting in this listicle is regarding his comments about homosexuality.
This is a prime example of why you are better just keeping your mouth shut sometimes. Regardless of what your opinions are, no matter how right or wrong people see them, sometimes it is just better to say nothing.
The current WBC Heavyweight Champion was speaking about three of the worst things in the world, in his opinion. The controversy and outrage came when the WBC World Heavyweight Champion listed homosexuality and abortion as two of the three things on his list, causing widespread anger. He said:
“There are only three things that need to be accomplished before the devil comes home: one of them is homosexuality being legal in countries, one of them is abortion and the other one is paedophilia.”
Fury backed up his comments by saying he is a devote Christian and it says those three things in the Bible, therefore they aren’t his opinions The 6″9 heavyweight went on to say:
“It may take a while before these three things have to be accomplished but make no mistake them three things must be accomplished before the world finishes. That’s not my opinion, it’s what the Bible tells me.”
This is just one of the long list of comments that Fury has made in the past that has sparked controversy and outrage.
Fury’s Battle With Alcohol & Drug Addiction
Finally, another one of the most controversial moments surrounding the career of Tyson Fury is of course his battle with drug and alcohol addiction.
In 2015, after dethroning Wladimir Klitschko with one of the greatest performances from a British fighter on foreign soil, as a huge underdog with the best offshore sportsbooks might we add, Fury slipped into a state of depression.
As well as alcohol and cocaine abuse, ‘The Gypsy King’ was dealing with bipolar disorder and was engrossed by suicidal thoughts. As his weight ballooned, his titles slipped from his grasp and his boxing career seemed resigned to history.
However, look at where Fury is now. He has completely turned his life around, got fit again, got healthy and got himself back involved in the sport that he loves. Not only that, but he is of course widely regarded as the best heavyweight boxer on the planet right now.
“I’ve been an alcoholic, I’ve been a drug addict, I’ve been a fat b***** because I am a food addict and there’s not much I haven’t been addicted to.
“But I have recovered and I do feel better for it. There is life after mental health, if you manage it, and the last thing we need is for people to give in to mental health.
“It is a fight, it is a battle that we will have to continue to battle and fight for our whole life. But life is so much worth fighting for,” said Tyson Fury about the various battle he has faced outside of the ring.
For us here at The Sports Daily, these are some of the most controversial moments of Tyson Fury’s career. Fury has been in the spotlight for a lot of the right reasons, but also all of the wrong reason. One thing is for sure, there isn’t a week that passes that ‘The Gypsy King’ isn’t in the public eye!
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