A Labour Shadow Cabinet Minister has accused new heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury of “aggressive” homophobia that encourages young gay people to take their own lives.
Boxing fans were jubilant after Fury, 27, from Manchester, defeated Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night in a shock victory over a boxer who had not lost for 11 years.
However Chris Bryant MP, Shadow Leader of the Commons, wrote on Twitter that he was “not celebrating Tyson Fury’s win”.
“His aggressive style of foul homophobia is precisely the kind that leads to young gay suicides,” he added.
Earlier this month, Fury told the Mail on Sunday that there were three things that needed to happen “before the devil comes home”.
“One of them is homosexuality being legal in countries, one of them is abortion and the other is paedophilia. Who would have thought in the 50s and 60s that those first two would be legalised?” he added.
“When I say paedophiles could be made legal, it sounds crazy. But if I had said to you about the first two being made legal in the 50s, I would have been looked upon as a crazy man.”
In 2013, Fury was fined £3,000 by the boxing authorities after saying two other boxers were “gay lovers”.
