DILLIAN WHYTE sat on his caravan steps in a field at the side of the M25 waiting for a fight and roared at Tyson Fury: ‘I am the real Gypsy King’.
The 32-year-old Brixton ace is holed up in a Winnebago in Brentwood to prepare for his fight with Russian dangerman Alexander Povetkin on Saturday.
A 12th consecutive win will earn him the WBC’s diamond belt and secure the shot at the main belt Fury currently holds, that must happen before March.
Fury has flipped between promising Whyte his hard-earned shot – after he has dealt with his Deontay Wilder trilogy – and vowing to ditch the title if the sanctioning body forces him to face the Body Snatcher.
So Whyte went on record to tell SunSport he is the hardest travelling, biggest banging, real road warrior around.
He said: “I drove 40-hours with my three dogs out to my training base in Portugal for a 22-week camp away from home for this fight.
“Now I am living in a caravan for a week before fighting a dangerous Russian, in an Essex field, on the side of the motorway.
“I will fight anyone, anywhere and that is why I am the real Gypsy King and I have even got my flat cap to prove it.
“Tyson Fury likes to tell people that he is but let’s see.
“Fury had a privileged upbringing, went to a posh school in an expensive area and lives in a lovely house. What kind of gypsy is he?”
Whyte and Fury have been involved in a verbal war for years and the Jamaica-born star believes he has dug up some dirt that would harm his reputation and public appeal.
The 6ft 9in champion lists his full name as Tyson Luke Fury, which has boosted his brand and helped secure meetings with the Iron Mike legend he was named after.
But Whyte insists his team have evidence that he has switched his Christian names around to sound like the Baddest Man on the Planet.
Whyte 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?”
Vladimir Putin-backed Povetkin has been up to his usual tricks at the claustrophobic Holiday Inn, sending two of his burly team to try to spy on Whyte’s training sessions.
The 40-year-old Olympic champ tried the same intimidation tactics when he came to London to face Anthony Joshua in 2018.
But Whyte’s close-knit team managed to spot the two Soviet powerhouses attempting to hide behind the foliage and the WBC interim champ laughed it off.
“I was just doing some strength and conditioning training,” he laughed.
“Did they think they were going to catch me going through my gameplan or sparring?
“We looked out the window and saw these massive guys trying to hide behind a tree and peek through the windows.
“I yelled out asking them what they were up to, if they needed any help or directions, and they walked off.
“But this is a good sign. It shows they are worried and they seriously should be.”
