People are only just realising Tyson Fury’s ‘real name’ ahead of Soccer Aid

Fury has been one of the most dominant heavyweight boxers of his generation, but his rivals have often questioned his true identity – and it’s all to do with his name

Tyson Fury – a former two-time heavyweight champion – has often been at the centre of rumours suggesting he doesn’t go by his real name.

The ‘Gypsy King’ is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights of this generation as well as arguably one of the best the in the history of the division. The 36-year-old’s legacy includes his epic showdown with Wladimir Klitschko and his thrilling trilogy fights with Deontay Wilder.

Back in January, Fury announced his retirement from the sport following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. Despite teasing a return to training over the last few weeks, it seems as if the Morecambe brawler is enjoying the retirement life. The ‘Gypsy King’ will swap the gloves for the boots on Sunday as he is set to co-manage England alongside Wayne Rooney against the World XI at this year’s Soccer Aid.

Ahead of the match, fans may be left surprised by Fury’s ‘real name.’ It is fair to say that the Brit followed the same path as his father John’s hero, Mike Tyson. ‘The Gypsy King’ told Fight Hub TV in January the emotional reason why he was named after ‘Iron Mike’: “I was born eight weeks premature and I died three times when I was a baby and I weighed in at one pound in weight. I was born in 1988, my dad was a huge boxing fan and he was also a professional boxer so he called me after his greatest ever fighter Mike.

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“He called me Tyson, it was my dad’s favourite fighter was Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson’s heyday was in 1988 – very fitting that I should go on to be the heavyweight champion of the world. Odds against that would be very stacked high, not in your favour. It’s a very interesting story but very achievable!”

Several boxing big names have cheekily dubbed Fury ‘Luke’, despite no concrete proof supporting such claims. Dubiously, ‘Luke’ appears as Fury’s middle name on various platforms, including Companies House, Boxrec and Wikipedia. That said, one X user clarified the confusion after he posted Fury’s name was listed everywhere as “Luke Tyson Fury” after turning pro.

“The Luke thing isn’t even a rumour, it’s documented. Right around 2008/9 when he turned pro his name was listed everywhere as ‘Luke Tyson Fury’ and it was only a few years in that the family switched to claiming that Tyson was his real first name,” the post read.

Amidst an online row, Anthony Joshua once mockingly called Fury by the name ‘Luke’ on X – formerly known as Twitter – slamming: “If there was an arbitration going on, why announce to the world we are fighting! The fight was signed! UNDISPUTED. Bare knuckle? You’re a good kid, don’t play with me Luke! I’ll slap your bald head and you’ll do nothing! Waste man.”

Dillian Whyte also threw shade at Fury’s alleged name switch. He said: “My real name is Dillian. I know 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. He might say he wants to fight me sometimes but how can you trust a man who doesn’t even use his own name?”