Tyson Fury has continued to double down upon various homophobic and sexist comments he made prior to becoming the WBO, IBF and WBA world heavyweight champion, after there were calls for the BBC to remove him from their list of nominees for Sports Personality of the Year.
Fury had previously said that he believed homosexuality was one of three harbingers of the apocalypse, alongside abortion and paedophilia. He also said that a woman’s “best place is in the kitchen or on her back”, just seconds after claiming that he wasn’t sexist in the same interview.
Now Fury has spoken with YouTube boxing channel iFL TV about the criticisms leveled at him, saying: “They can’t knock me achievement, can they? I beat the man who nobody could beat. So until somebody can go in and beat him again, 23 title defences… then they can suck my b***s. How ‘bout that for a bit of heavyweight-champion talking?”
Watch the interview in the video below:
Fury also defended his comments on social media, posting the two following messages on Twitter:
Just to recap, I stick by anything I’ve said in the past, 10000% being the heavyweight champion makes no difference to me, I’m a roll model
— Gypsy King (@Tyson_Fury) December 6, 2015
I’m a mans man, who ever don’t like can go hoot there selfs, I follow Jesus, & I believe everything he says!!! If this offends u grow up!
— Gypsy King (@Tyson_Fury) December 6, 2015
A petition set up on Change.org to get the BBC to remove Fury from the SPOTY shortlist has garnered over 70,000 signatures. The BBC previously released a statement revealing that they would not remove Tyson Fury from the list of nominees, saying: “The Sports Personality shortlist is compiled by a panel of industry experts and is based on an individual’s sporting achievement – it is not an endorsement of an individual’s personal beliefs either by the BBC or members of the panel.”
