Heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are both at the center of a UK storm following their contrasting actions in recent days.
Firstly, Joshua spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest and has been heavily criticized by sections of the British fans for his wording of a partly pre-prepared and partly ad-libbed statement.
AJ was branded a ‘hypocrite’ and ‘disgrace’ by some on social media for a portion of his speech, which stated: “We must not use a demonstration for selfish motives and turn it into rioting and looting. We need to be united in the non-violent demonstrations. Show them where it hurts.
“Abstain from spending your money in their shops, and spend in economies that invest in black businesses. And that’s for all communities if you want to uplift yourself. Invest in your own businesses.
It led to some previous supporters of Joshua vowing never to buy his fights on Pay-Per-View again. Others who asked for an apology.
Also, 17,000 plus people signed a petition to have Joshua removed from any BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2020 as a result.
The petition has since been taken down as the unified ruler revealed his disappointment at being singled out for standing up at the rally.
One fan took objection to the Londoner’s phrasing. He said: “What’s this about stop shopping at white businesses? My family has a local shop down in Devon they are white. They are not racist and need customers to survive.
“Why should people stop shopping at their business just because of the color of their skin?
As for Tyson Fury, the WBC title holder has also seen a lot of flak coming his way after praising his advisor on social media.
Daniel Kinahan’s name was raised in Irish Parliament this week, which politician Neale Richmond has since taken to Twitter.
TYSON FURY VIDEO
“Raised the issue of media coverage of #FuryJoshua this evening in the Dáil debate on sport as so many international outlets have failed to properly cite Daniel Kinahan’s real background. I paid tribute to the decision by @IsFearrAnStar to not cover the fight.”
It comes as Kinahan has been linked strongly by Irish Media to organized crime.
‘The Gypsy King’ posted a video mentioning Kinahan to his millions of followers. Some replies coming back to Fury were certainly not accepting of his choice.
“Sorry Tyson, have always supported you, but not now. Thanking a person associated with drugs, not me Sir,” said one.
Another added: “According to an Irish High Court ruling, Kinahan controls the Kinahan crime gang and is involved in drugs and weapons smuggling on a global scale.
“This taints what should be a brilliant sporting occasion. Shame he’s involved.”
The pair recently agreed to face each other in a two-fight deal with the first bout set for 2021.
