Fellow British boxer Dillian Whyte has made the remarkable claim that Tyson Fury’s real name is in fact Luke, but the WBC Heavyweight Champion changed it to Tyson to make him sound ‘harder.’

In addition, Whyte believes that he changed his name to Tyson to help him become more sellable in the world of boxing.

It was thought by many that Tyson’s father John named his son after the legendary boxer Mike Tyson.

John Fury said:

“I thought, there’s only one name fitting for him, he’s fought hard to become a person living in this world. Mike Tyson was the best in the world at that time. Tyson Luke Fury – that’s his name.”

Speaking to SunSport, however, Whyte believes it has in fact been a ruse.

Whyte said:

“My real name is Dillian and his real name is Luke.

“He changed it to Tyson to make himself sound harder. People can have a little look around on the internet and see for themselves.

“In boxing, the name Tyson is a lot more sellable than Luke. A lot of what Tyson does and says is a game, you can never take anything he says seriously or at face value."

‘The Gypsy King’ has revealed previously that his middle name is Luke, but has made no mention that it was initially his first.

Fury, meanwhile, looks set to face another fellow Brit in the form of Anthony Joshua in a bid to unify the heavyweight division, with just the venue and date of the bout to be finalised.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn added:

“All parties have now put pen to paper and we will be working hard over the next few weeks to confirm the site and date for the biggest fight in boxing."