Tyson Fury Says He Deserves to Beat Andy Murray, Lewis Hamilton to SPOTY 2015

New world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has claimed he deserves to win the 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award ahead of the likes of Andy Murray and Lewis Hamilton, although he doesn’t hold much hope of doing so.

Fury upset the boxing world last weekend as he out-pointed Wladimir Klitschko to win five of the six available world heavyweight titles and has subsequently been named on the 12-person shortlist for one of the most coveted individual awards in British sports.

The 27-year-old offered his thoughts on who he feels should win, per Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail:

"

Has anyone else beaten a super-champion this year? Taken him out? Taken away all his belts? Who’s done what?

So Lewis Hamilton has won the F1 championship and Andy Murray has won the Davis Cup. Hamilton can win a race and it doesn’t mean anything. Murray can win a tennis match and lose a tennis match and still have his popularity. But who beat Wladimir Klitschko, the man they said couldn't be beaten? Answer: Tyson ‘Too Fast’ Fury.’

There’s no point me thinking about it. I’m not bothered. If I don’t win any award, I’ve never expected to win one anyway.

"

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Although Fury is definitely a personality, thus tying in with the name of the gong, the award typically goes to the sportsperson who has enjoyed the finest calendar year of sporting success. Hamilton, who won his third Formula One world title, and Murray, who helped Britain’s tennis team win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936, each have compelling cases.

According to Oddschecker, Murray is currently a narrow favourite from heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill; the latter returned from the birth of her first child to win at the athletics World Championships in Beijing earlier this year. Fury is third in the betting currently, ahead of Hamilton.

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Here’s a look at the 12 sportspeople who have been considered for this year’s award in what is a stellar field, per the BBC Sport Twitter feed:

Fury’s achievement was remarkable. Although Klitschko was far from his best on the night, the Ukrainian had not lost for more than a decade in heavyweight bouts, making the challenger’s task all the more difficult.

It wasn’t a classic fight, with very, very few clean shots landed, but there was clear daylight between the two fighters, reflected on the judge’s scorecards.

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Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan feels Fury, who is currently third in the betting among bookmakers, should have a fine chance of triumphing:

Fury has done plenty to endear himself to sports fans, who vote for the winner of the award on the night. The heavyweight is unorthodox in his approach to the sport, in his conduct inside the ring and in his celebrations, as his post-fight singsong after beating Klitschko illustrated in earnest. 

However, he has expressed some controversial views in the past. In an interview during the build-up to his showdown with the Ukrainian, Fury compared abortion and homosexuality to paedophilia, per Oliver Holt of the Mail On Sunday.

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The heavyweight was also fined £3,000 by the British Boxing Board of Control in 2013 after branding fellow British fighters David Price and Tony Bellow “gay lovers,” per Gareth A Davies of the Daily Telegraph.

While still a prestigious gong, SPOTY has lost a little of its prestige in recent years. TalkSPORT’s Georgie Bingham thinks the build-up is a little tiresome:

Fury’s achievements are certainly as reputable as anyone's on the list. To go to Germany, where Klitschko is hugely popular, and beat an all-time great is in an incredible feat and a sporting accomplishment for which he should be revered. But his previous comments are likely to prevent him fully endearing himself to the British public, who vote for the award.

For Fury, as he implies in the aforementioned quotes, that’s unlikely to be a major issue, as he looks ahead to some exciting challenges to come in 2016.