Tyson Fury continues to dominate the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Not many people are now talking about his massively impressive upset of Wladimir Klitschko last weekend. Instead, the spotlight is firmly set on Fury’s controversial comments.
Following an interview with the Daily Mail’s Oliver Holt in which Fury’s unsavoury thoughts on homosexuality were made public, the Manchester fighter came out and claimed to have been misquoted which is refuted by the newspaper.
Footage also emerged of Fury, prior to the Klitschko fight, threatening to have Holt physically assaulted by members of his entourage.
Holt fired back this weekend in his column from the Mail on Sunday in which he calls Fury a “bully and a bigot”
“Tyson Fury spoke to the camera when he told me what was going to happen for telling the truth about his views on homosexuality. He looked over his shoulder at a man called ‘Big Shane’ and said he would break my jaw with one straight right hand. ‘Oliver,’ he said, ‘take a good look at him because that’s the face you’re going to see before you hit the deck.’
“Then he indicated a man standing on the other side of the room and said that would be the face I saw when he was jumping on my head. ‘What are you going to do to him?’ Fury asked on the video. ‘I’m going to **** him up,’ the man said. Fury smiled.”
(Skip to 6:40 to see the threats)
Holt goes on to explain why he felt obliged to respond to Fury’s threats and does not deny the heavyweight the praise which he has earned for his in-ring abilities but makes sure to highlight the scorn that he should face for how he behaves outside of the ring.
“Fury is a fragile, intelligent, compelling man who is not without redeeming features. He is an articulate speaker, too. I hope he comes to terms with his new responsibilities. I hope he comes to realise that his views have caused a lot of people distress and that he turns away from them.
“No one expects Fury to be a saint but nor should he expect to be allowed to spread insidious messages that many find highly offensive without being called to account for them. He deserves our admiration for what he achieved in Dusseldorf and he deserves our disdain for his bullying and his bigotry. Simply looking the other way should never be an option.”
