Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has called on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to "grow a pair" and protect a statue of Winston Churchill amid Black Lives Matter marches in London.
Last week the Churchill statue, which stands in Parliament Square, was sprayed with graffiti during last week’s anti-racism demonstration with the words "was a racist" tagged on it.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has had the Churchill memorial covered up amid fears it'll be targeted again, with more protests taking place the weekend.
Fury is urging Johnson to make sure it stays safe.
"This is the great man Sir Winston Churchill, a man who saved millions of lives in the UK and around the world," Fury wrote on Instagram with an image of Churchill.
"He made it possible to live in the world we know today, don't forget if Hitler would of won the war there would be no Black, Gypsy, Jew, in Europe as he would of killed them all.
"We owe our lives to this legend of a leader, Sir Winston Churchill I salute you as a patriot of England and the world heavyweight boxing champion & the Gypsy King.
"RIP #worldsgreatestleader @BorisJohnson grow a pair. Do not let anyone desecrate our great leader’s monument."
'The Gipsy King' has been outspoken on issues, after revealing he's been subjected to racism due to his Traveller heritage.
Johnson didn't directly respond to Fury but did urge protestors to respect the statue of Churchill.
"It is absurd and shameful that this national monument should today be at risk of attack by violent protesters," he wrote on Twitter.
"Yes, he sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today, but he was a hero, and he fully deserves his memorial.
"To tear them down would be to lie about our history, and impoverish the education of generations to come.
"We cannot now try to edit or censor our past. We cannot pretend to have a different history."
Damaging statues has become a global trend since a monument to 17th century slave trader Edward Colston was torn down in Bristol and thrown into a harbour.
Closer to home, a statue of British naval captain John Hamilton was moved by the Hamilton City Council after a formal request from the Waikato-Tainui iwi.
Fury is due to face Deontay Wilder in his next fight, with New Zealand being touted as a possible location for the contest.