Tyson Fury: 'I don't hate any race, colour, creed, generation, nobody'

Fury has launched an impassioned defence of his views


 Tyson Fury holds his new belts
 (Reuters)

Tyson Fury has hit back at his critics claiming that he is sexist, racist and homophobic.

The heavyweight world champion, who has been stripped of one of his three world title belts, has claimed he is misunderstood in a lengthy interview with Sky Sports News.

Fury has hit the headlines in recent days for comments made about fellow Sports Personality of the Year nomination Jessica Ennis-Hill (she "slaps up good") and for comments in an interview with Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 this week: "'Homosexuality, abortion and paedophilia - them three things need to be accomplished before the world finishes. That's what the Bible tells me."

His place on the SPOTY shortlist has been questioned, with long jumper Greg Rutherford threatening to pull out of the show, but a meeting with a BBC executive convinced him otherwise.

Fury has come under increasing scrutiny for comments he has made since he upset long-time champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany on 28 November.

Asked directly if he was a homophobe, he said: "No, definitely not. I wouldn't be a very good Christian if I hated anybody, would I? If Jesus loves the world, I love the world.

"I can actually say that I have no hate for anybody. I haven't any enemies, I don't hate any race, colour, creed, generation, nobody."

Fury, a devout follower of the Bible, believes his words have been twisted in the media and said the ethnicity of the team he works with was an example of how he was "uniting Christians and Muslims".

"My team is one of the most diverse teams amongst religions in the world of boxing," he said.

"We've got Jamaicans in there, we've got Pakistanis in there, we've got Indians in there; Christians, Muslims, we're all united. What about that? Why don't they broadcast that?

"Tyson Fury is uniting the world. Uniting Christians and Muslims in a time when everything is up in the air. We don't hear about that, do we?

"We don't hear about the good things that I'm doing - we just hear about the comments that people want to twist and want to make me sound like I hate people and that I hate the world.

"I love all of God's children. We're all God's children."

Fury has claimed he is not interested in winning the BBC prize, insisting he has "more personality in the end of my little finger" than his shortlisted rivals, but has not ignored the controversy about his candidacy - which began when he said that heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill "slaps up good" and "looks quite fit" in a dress and that a women's place is in the kitchen.

Rutherford said he still retained concerns over the "very out-dated and derogatory comments" made by Fury regarding the role of women and homosexuality.

Fury responded on Twitter, where he appears under the name 'Gypsy King', by writing: "There only 1 TYSON FURY", and "He's 1 of our own, he's 1 of our own, Tyson fury,s 1 of our own" while also retweeting a suggestion that Rutherford was using the controversy to seek attention.

Fury could yet face action from the British Boxing Board of Control, which met on Wednesday to discuss the situation but declined to comment on the outcome of those talks until Fury had been consulted.

Greater Manchester Police have also confirmed that they are investigating hate crime allegations against the boxer.

Fury has labelled that a "joke" and instead suggested he should file a complaint for abuse he claims he has received.

"I'm not a homophobe, I'm not a sexist, I'm not any of those. I'm not a bigot, I'm not a racist, I am a gypsy. I've (had people) being racist towards for the past 27 years," he added.

"You don't hear me complaining about it do you. I don't write any newspaper articles about it.

"If the police are going to waste the taxpayers' money in investigating Tyson Fury for being hated then that's just a joke. It's a waste of taxpayers' money.

"I don't hate anybody, I've said that a thousand times. If anybody should be investigated for being hated, it's me isn't it?

"I think I am one of the most hated sportsmen in the country at the moment, so I want to file a claim against everybody else. Compensation, victim's crime compo - here we are, me."

Additional reporting from PA