Tyson Fury has the world's attention right now as he prepares for a major face-off with Oleksander Usyk – but the heavyweight champion has never been too far from the limelight, be it for sporting achievements or for something altogether less savoury.
Fury will have the bulk of the country's support on Saturday night when he faces his Ukrainian opponent in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, however he has been known to alienate certain communities in the past with a series of ill-judged comments. Fury has never been one to shy away from controversy and his happy-go-lucky persona has managed to charm an army of fight fans into his corner, however, the boxer does have a history of making prejudicial comments.
It was in 2013 that Fury was even fined a staggering amount of £3,000 by the Boxing Board of Control for comments he had made on Twitter, now known as X, about fellow fighters David Price and Tony Bellew. Fury branded the pair 'gay lovers' and proceeded to make other disparaging remarks about the two Liverpudlian boxers, which led to the board stepping in.
In response to Fury's comments, the secretary of the Boxing Board of Control, Robert Smith, told Telegraph Sport at the time that he did not recognise the Fury he saw on social media versus the man he knew in reality. "What he did was wrong," Smith said. "He is a licence holder with us and he was abusing other licence holders. It is unacceptable and he has told us he has put a stop to it.
"Tyson was not doing himself any favours. The person posting on Twitter is not the mature individual who myself and other members of the Board have come across and know. It had to end."
In response to the £3,000 hit, Fury conceded claimed that the public enjoyed his 'outspoken' views – although maybe the time had come to say less. Speaking after the fine, he said: "People like outspoken people and I am outspoken, but when you are getting hit for three grand, it's time to maybe quieten down a bit. The board has been more than lenient with me and it was a hefty fine that I will take on the chin."
However, Fury's vow of silence did not last long as in October of that year, he once again got into a social-media stand-off with former British heavyweight Lennox Lewis and Ukrainian fighter Wladimir Klitschko. A series of homophobic tweets ultimately lead to another investigation by the British Boxing Board of Control, as reported at the time by PinkNews.
It was in 2015 that Fury made headlines once again for offensive and inflammatory comments in which he compared homosexuality and abortion to paedophilia. The then 27 year-old boxer told the Mail on Sunday: "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 is paedophilia."
However the comments didn't stop there. Following his victory over Wladimir Klitschko, a video clip then resurfaced which saw Fury's response to a question about women in sports with Fury appeared to reference ring girls as opposed to female boxers in a misogynistic flurry.
Fury said in the video: "I think they are very nice when they're walking around that ring holding them cards. I like them actually; they give me inspiration when I'm tired and I see them wiggling around with their Round 2, Round 8. I think women in boxing is very good."
However, arguably the worst was yet to come when speaking on women with the fighter elaborating on his position on women in the workplace. He added: "It's up to everybody what they want to do. I'm all for it; I'm not a sexist. I believe if a man can to go work all his life a woman can.
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"Who am I to say 'Don't do that 'cause you're a girl?' But 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."
He also reignited his war of words with fellow boxer David Haye in 2016 where Fury, after failing a drug test, used homophobic language on twitter to make a series of remarks at his rival. In the same year he was also reported to have made anti semitic remarks in a video that was released by the Guardian.
The series of offensive outbursts were a lightning rod of controversy when Fury was nominated for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. Over 130,000 people signed a petition to get him removed from the shortlist, however he BBC decided to stand by his nomination.
Tennis player Andy Murray ultimately took home the award, however Fury was questioned live on stage by Gary Lineker about his comments and apologised for his remarks, saying: "If I've said anything in the past that's hurt anybody, I apologise. I've said a lot of stuff in the past and none of it with intentions to hurt anybody... It's all very tongue in cheek, it's all fun and games to me. I'm not a very serious kind of person – it's all very happy-go-lucky with Tyson Fury."
However, only three years ago Fury launched a tirade at the BBC event voicing his wish not to be involved in the SPOTY shortlist and, in 2021, he even threatened legal action against the BBC if he was to be nominated. Referencing his controversial past after years of backlashes and spats, Fury divulged that a lot was down to playing 'a part'.
Writing in his 2019 autobiography, Behind the Mask, Fury said: "I started playing this part, being arrogant and cocky. I eventually lost myself in this character.
"I went into the paid ranks off the back of an amateur career during which I was aware of racism against travellers. This made me an outsider and so I felt that for me to get the attention I needed to be an attraction in the sport, I had to play the outlaw."
The fact remains that Fury will have a huge wealth of support behind him going into the fight with Usyk, however those who feel marginalised by his comments over the years may feel differently when it comes to their allegiance. The reality of Fury's latest extravaganza also taking place in Saudi Arabia will too be a concern to the LGBTIQA+ community, and many others, with homosexuality being illegal in in the country under Sharia law.
Despite the country's new status as a leading contender to host some of the world's biggest events, many sports stars have voiced concerns or sort reassurances before competing in the country, however, Saudi Arabia being considered a venue for the world's biggest sporting spectaculars doesn't look like it's coming to an end any time soon.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns in a huge bout on May 18 with each fighter attempting to etch their name in boxing history as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999. The stakes couldn't be higher as the pair will go head to head for the prestigious WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF titles.