Tyson Fury: Court Jester or Master of the Media?
By Tony “The Fighting Writer” Luis
Who is Tyson Fury? A clown, buffoon, gypsy, Catholic, male chauvinist, homophobe? He may be all or none of those things. But there is one thing that is indisputable. He is our heavyweight champion of the world. He earned that label fair and square, soundly beating the number one heavyweight in the division, Wladimir Klitschko, in November 2015. In doing so, he won the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring lineal titles and ended Klitscho’s ten year reign over the division. They are scheduled for a rematch on July 9th.Will Klitschko reclaim his throne? Or will Fury confirm the passing of the torch and lead the way for a new era in heavyweight boxing?
At 25-0, 18 KO’s, the 27 year old Fury earned his shot with wins over the trio of Dereck Chisora, Kevin Johnson and Steve Cunningham. But it’s not the names, numbers, or even titles that are making Tyson Fury popular these days. Perhaps, controversial is a better word. Last fall, Fury mentioned the possibility of running as an independent candidate to be a Member of Parliament in his native UK. He expressed views that the government was too focused on immigrants and not enough on homeless people and those with drug and alcohol problems. He also suggested that Britain should leave the European Union. Last month, at the press conference announcing his rematch with Klitschko, he expressed his desire to move to the United States. His explanation concluded that he feels unaccepted in his native Great Britain. He alluded he’s been victim to racial abuse due to his Irish Traveler heritage and that he will always be viewed as a Gypsy, nothing more.
In 2013, Fury told a reporter before one of his fights he would “hang” his own sister if she were promiscuous. That same year, he was fined for calling two other boxers “gay lovers”. He’s also made comments demeaning women. “A woman’s best place is in the kitchen and on her back, that’s my personal belief.”-Tyson Fury…Leading up to his first match with Klitschko last November, he argued that performance enhancing drugs should be legalized in professional sports. He explained that this would make things fair for all the athletes, arguing that it is more unfair if a clean athlete is unknowingly at a disadvantage if the opposing athlete is secretly on PEDS.
Things got really hot for Fury after winning the title this past November, when he made comparisons between homosexuality and pedophilia. He was nominated for the 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. However, his comments on homosexuality sparked a fire in many fans and members of the press. Over 138,000 people signed an online petition stating his homophobic views made him an unsuitable candidate for the award. I don’t endorse Fury’s views on the topic, I do feel this petition was missing the point. The award was not one for “Most Well Liked” of the year. It’s written “Sports PERSONALITY”. There is no question, hate him or love him, that Fury has personality.
Police even began conducting an investigation to determine if Fury’s comments could warrant charges for hate crime. The conclusion was no, and rightfully so. A man shouldn’t be condemned for expressing his opinion. Had Fury harmed someone who was homosexual or discriminated against someone who was homosexual, it would be a different story. But for expressing his interpretation of the bible as his reasoning for not supporting homosexuality? You may not have to like his opinion, but hate crime? Hipsters, read your history on hate crime and where the term came from. Freedom of speech can be beautiful and ugly at the same time. Heck, Donald Trump is still in the Election race.
So, if Tyson Fury goes on to beat Klitschko in the rematch and keep his titles, what then? He’s recently stated he may retire after this fight. Highly unlikely. There are many things you can call Tyson Fury. Whether the labels are true or not is a matter of interpretation. But there’s one thing he’s not. Irrelevant. When he speaks, people listen. And he knows how to create buzz and get people talking. I feel there are many things Tyson Fury says merely to make headlines and in good fun. He is a throwback from a previous world. A world where crude, off color humor was more acceptable and not harmful and people had thicker skin to hear it. In 2016, things have changed. Tyson Fury is heavyweight champion of the world, and for better or worse, he has people’s attention. Not bad for an uneducated Gypsy, huh?
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