Ahead of his WBC heavyweight title bout with Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury has received the support of the legendary fighter after whom he was named - Mike Tyson.

Rather than throwing his support behind his fellow countryman Wilder, Iron Mike has instead decided to back Fury to gain his revenge in Las Vegas next Saturday night.

As per The Sun, the 53-year-old said: "I like both of them as fighters, they both came from nothing and achieved becoming heavyweight champion, you have to respect that, I was in their position one time.

"In the first fight I was hoping for Tyson Fury, I always pulled for him because he was named after me, that is the natural thing to do, right?

"I was always biased toward him. He is very likeable; he is a nice person."

Weighing only 1lb at birth, the Gypsy King was given the forename ‘Tyson’ in the hope that he would fight and one day reach the heights of the once undisputed heavyweight champion.

Of course, that prediction came true. Fury now stands 6ft 9" at the top of world boxing, but interestingly, he has made it there with a more technical style than his namesake.

When you think about it, the hard-hitting approach once used by Iron Mike is actually more akin to that of Fury’s opponent, Deontay Wilder – but that won’t assuage Tyson’s support.

Having witnessed the controversial first fight between the pair in 2018, he went on to explain how the individual style and determination Fury used to salvage a draw caught his attention.

He said: “I never understood Tyson, I just kept seeing him beating decent fighters.

"I didn’t know if they were washed up or throwing the fights because Tyson did not look like he should be beating them.

"But he was and he was laughing at them, that made me a fan. He is so much better than what he appears to be and looks like.

"It was almost like a fairy-tale how he went down [against Wilder] and got back into it, it looked like he was finished. It looked like a screenplay.

"He amazed a lot of people by getting up. He showed he is tough, he got up and won the final round.

"I thought it was over, then he got up and it was like Rocky, he then fought back. It was amazing, it made me a fan. It takes great fortitude and belief."

Who knows, maybe this valuable vote of confidence might just give Fury that extra bit of motivation he will undoubtedly need to overcome Wilder next weekend.