GREAT Britain has 11 world champion boxers after Tyson Fury's shock victory over Wladimir Klitschko, but you'll forgive the many boxing fans uncomfortable with supporting the self-styled 'Gypsy King.'

If you can't admire and acknowledge Fury's achievement you're being churlish in the extreme. The guy has gone to Klitschko's backyard and beaten him soundly, just the fourth fighter to do so in 68 contests. Fury now carries three of the four alphabet world titles and is THE MAN in the heavyweight division. I can't or won't even attempt to deride him for that. It's a stunning achievement, a historic one for British boxing. Being heavyweight champion is still one of the highest pinnacles of world sport.

Nor should we overlook the colour and the charisma that Fury brings to the party. The guy is called Tyson Fury, for goodness sake. You couldn't make up a better name for a fighter. And what a character he can be. Dressing up as Batman for press conferences, singing at weigh-ins and after the win of his life, speaking with that almost Clockwork Orange tone of his, Fury can enthral an audience with his words and actions just as easily as he can with his fists.

We should also acknowledge the huge historical significance of Fury being the first man from the travelling community to win the heavyweight world title. That makes him an icon to a section of society often disrespected. It's a landmark moment. Fury never tries to hide his roots and in his actions, if not his words, he's absolutely a role-model for the travelling community.

And there ends the praise. Because Fury, as well as being a champion and a character, is also a bigot. A nasty, homophobic man who compares being gay, to being a paedophile.

"There are only three things that need to happen before the Devil comes home," says Fury. "One is homosexuality being legal, one is abortion being legal and the other one's paedophilia.

"My faith and culture is all based on the Bible," he told Ollie Holt in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.

I've seen many fight fans trying to gloss over this fact on social media, the fact that Fury is a nasty man with nasty, hateful views. I've read words like 'controversial, polarising or intemperate,' but they are wholly inadequate.

But then, homophobia remains the last accepted piece of discrimination in sport. Footballers fear to come out and across the board, homophobia is frowned upon, but rarely stamped upon.

If Fury had compared black, Jewish or Muslim people to paedophiles, it would have stopped his career dead. But even in 2015, sport is largely still willing to just shake their heads and do nothing when it comes to homophobia.

So fair play to Tyson Fury, Britain's 11th world champion boxer in a golden era for the sport in the UK. For his actions in the ring, he deserves nothing but respect and credit.

But his views are vile. And it's important to make that point, even after his stunning victory.