World Boxing Council 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 Sunday.

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, and the latter is 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 offenses involving knives or sharp instruments (knife-­enabled crime) rose by 10 percent to 49,027 offenses in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022.