?By Roy Billington

It has been a month of meteoric highs and cataclysmic lows for Tyson Fury. 

On Nov. 28, Fury shocked the world with an upset win over Wladimir Klitschko. Over the course of 12 rounds, Fury completely out-boxed Klitschko, who never seemed capable of any telling offense. With the judge's decision, Fury was awarded the highly-coveted undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. But in the weeks following his in-ring success, he has found his biggest opponent to-date to be himself.

Since becoming the heavyweight champ, Fury has made a number of ludicrous comments in the media, and it came to a head earlier this week, when Fury declared that British Olympic heptathlon champion, Jessica Ennis-Hill, “Looked quite fit when she’s got a dress on,” before going on a vile sexist rant, stating that “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."

FuryÂ’s hate speech has not gone unnoticed however. After hearing FuryÂ’s remarks, British politician, John Nicolson has called for the BBC to remove Tyson Fury from the running to become this yearÂ’s British Sporting Person of the Year. Nicolson, a member of the powerful SNP party, told the Scottish Herald that the taxpayer-funded BBC has made a mistake in nominating Fury.

Tyson Fury must surely have disqualified himself," Nicolson said. "He has a long history of expressing poisonous anti-gay views. He recently equated homosexuality with pedophilia. By nominating Mr. Fury, the BBC endorses his views that he's a role model. Moreover it would subsequently, be difficult for the Corporation to defend itself against the accusation that it is half hearted in its opposition to homophobia.

To further add to FuryÂ’s woes, over 100,000 people have signed a petition to have him removed from the Sports Person of the Year shortlist, and the Greater Manchester Police are investigating hate crime complaints surrounding FuryÂ’s comparison of homosexuality to pedophilia. 

Furor has now caught up to Fury in the ring as well.

Since his victory over Klitschko, Fury announced his intentions to give the long-time champion an immediate rematch. This decision appears to have backfired on the Brit as Lindsey Tucker, the chairman of the International Boxing Federation, has decided to strip Fury of his world title for taking the rematch against Klitschko instead of giving IBF No. 1 contender, Vyacheslav Glazkov, a shot at the title.


While FuryÂ’s refusal to fight Glazkov is valid grounds for having his title stripped, it remains hard to believe the IBF would do it if it werenÂ’t for the championÂ’s recent controversial outbursts in the media. In the past, boxing organizations have been much more relaxed with their mandatory challenger requirements and it seems beyond comprehension that the IBF has not been influenced by the media outcry surrounding their heavyweight championÂ’s reprehensible public persona.

Fury’s quotes have stirred up a lot of controversy over the last few weeks, but ludicrous statements are not out of the norm for him. Since he burst onto the scene, the Brit has made a habit of making bizarre statements, once stating he would hang his sister if she were to be promiscuous, and alleging that fellow UK boxers, David Price and Tony Bellew were secretly “gay lovers.”

The controversy surrounding Fury will not hinder him. In fact, it may result in more pay-per-view buys for him in the watered-down British market. 

FuryÂ’s next bout will be in 2016, when he faces Klitschko in a rematch for the WBO, IBO, and WBA titles, a fight which should prove to be the biggest in heavyweight boxing in over a decade.