WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury urged the UK government to take tougher action against knife crime, after his cousin was stabbed to death in the early hours of Monday.
British media reported that Fury's cousin Rico Burton, 31, was one of two people attacked in Manchester. Burton and a 17-year-old boy both suffered stab wounds, with the latter still in hospital with serious injuries.
"My cousin was murdered last night, stabbed in the neck, this is becoming ridiculous idiots carry knives," Fury said in a post on Instagram.
"This needs to stop ASAP. UK government needs to bring higher sentencing for knife crime, it's a pandemic and you don't know how bad it is until it's one of your own!
"Life is very precious and it can be taken away very quick… enjoy every moment."
Fury's post included an image which read "Stop knife crime" and a hashtag saying "only cowards carry weapons".
Police have launched a murder inquiry into the incident, with Superintendent Ben Ewart of Greater Manchester Police telling a news conference that two men, aged 21 and 20, have been arrested over the "spontaneous and unplanned" attack and remain in custody.
A report by Britain's Office for National Statistics in July said that police-recorded offences involving knives or sharp instruments (knife-enabled crime) rose by 10 percent to 49,027 offences in England and Wales during the year to March 2022.
Last week - after several u-turns - Fury insisted he was retired from boxing, retracting his desire to complete a trilogy bout against compatriot Dereck Chisora.
On Sunday (NZ time), Oleksander Usyk beat Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight title rematch, with the Ukrainian immediately challenging Fury to what would be a hugely lucrative title unification bout, which may well coax 'The Gypsy King' back into the ring at least one more time.
Reuters/Newshub.