WBC Threatens Tyson Fury with Suspension for 'Insulting Statements'

The World Boxing Council has hinted it may suspend Tyson Fury after the British fighter made controversial comments about the organisation's decision not to hand him a title shot.

Fury said "someone's paying a lot of money to somebody" and claimed he has been "frozen out" of the running for the heavyweight belt that was vacated by Vitali Klitschko in December, per ESPN.

WBC officials released a statement in response to Fury's outburst, reported by Boxing Scene:

The WBC has advised Mr. Fury that absent a specific retraction and apology, the WBC will proceed with imposing disciplinary sanctions against him, including potential suspension, fine, and withdrawal from the WBC ratings.

Fury's anger stems from the WBC's decision to pit Bermane Stiverne against Chris Arreola for the title.

While the confirmed fight unearths an intriguing rematch of the eliminator that Stiverne won back in April 2013, as noted on ESPN, Fury believes he deserves a shot.

The WBC confirmed a number of reasons for not selecting Fury in its statement. The giant boxer was told his December 2012 win over Kevin Johnson had "no specific implications for the winner," despite Hennessy Promotions requesting the bout be an official eliminator.

Fury then beat Steve Cunningham in an official elimination for the IBF No. 2 spot, a contest the WBC doesn't take into consideration.

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His inactivity since the April 2013 bout—largely down to David Haye's decision to withdraw himself from an enticing matchup on two occasions, per Jeff Powell of theDaily Mail—has seen Fury drop to No. 8 in the WBC rankings.

As summarised in the official statement on Boxing Scene, these factors have played against Fury in a major way:

Fury’s appeal to the WBC Ratings Appeals Committee to be moved from No. 8 to No. 2 was not approved. His current rating is based on his relative inactivity and lesser quality of opposition, noting that he could have been excluded for unavailability based upon his competing for another organization.

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Fury's next bout will take place on the Chisora vs. Andriy Rudenko undercard at London's Copper Box on Feb. 15, per ESPN, but he obviously has more impressive fixtures planned in the near future.

Indeed, his Twitter abuse (Warning: Language NSFW) of Deontay Wilder could throw a potential clash into the mix.

While Fury is likely to continue making controversial headlines across the remainder of his career, the 25-year-old would be wise to run his mouth at opponents, and not the organisations in which he competes.