Tyson Fury early favourite to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year award after Deontay Wilder victory

Tyson Fury has been installed as the clear early favourite to scoop the 2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award following his stunning victory over Deontay Wilder.

The self-anointed 'Gypsy King' regained his status as world heavyweight champion on Saturday night as he ended the previously undefeated Wilder's five-year WBC title reign with a dominant seventh-round stoppage victory at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Such a destructive triumph - which came 14 months after a heavily disputed draw between the pair in Los Angeles - ranked alongside Fury's shock defeat of Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in 2015 and was the culmination of a long journey back to the summit of boxing's blue-riband division for the 31-year-old after battles with addiction and depression.

The high-profile win has now seen Fury pull ahead in the early running for SPOTY 2020, with Betway offering odds of 2/1 on the two-time champion adding the long-running award - currently held by England cricketer Ben Stokes - to his list of prestigious accolades.

World champion sprinter Dina Asher-Smith is currently priced as second favourite at 7/1, with Jordan Henderson - captain of Premier League champions-elect Liverpool - next up at 10/1 alongside star heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and reigning Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Swimmer Adam Peaty, cyclist Laura Kenny and middle-distance runner Laura Muir also feature on the list of early contenders along with Fury's fellow heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling.

However, there is still plenty of sporting action to come in a jam-packed 2020, not least an Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in addition to other major events such as the Ryder Cup and men's Twenty20 World Cup.

Fury is also set to face a trilogy bout against Wilder at some point this year, with another win - coupled with his domestic rival overcoming mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev - teeing up a mammoth all-British unification showdown with Joshua.

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