DILLIAN WHYTE claims Tyson Fury’s real name is Luke and he changed it to sound ‘harder’.
The Gypsy King, who is on a collision course to unify the heavyweight division in a £500m blockbuster against Anthony Joshua, lists his full name as Tyson Luke Fury.
That has boosted his brand and helped secure meetings with legend ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
But 32-year-old Whyte, who is still waiting for his shot at revenge against Alexander Povetkin, insists his team have evidence that he switched his Christian names around to sound like the Baddest Man on the Planet.
He exclusively told SunSport: “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?”
Whyte was speaking to us while holed up in a Winnebago in Brentwood to prepare for his fight with Russian dangerman Povetkin in August..
He went into that looking for a 12th consecutive win to earn him the WBC’s diamond belt and secure the shot at Fury’s main belt.
But the Body Snatcher was dramatically dropped in the fifth by Povetkin as he suffered a shock loss to dent his hopes of facing Fury.
Now he will have to get past Povetkin in their rematch and sit back while Joshua, who destroyed Kubrat Pulev last week, and Fury thrash out terms for their super fight.
Before that huge setback, Whyte did claim to SunSport that 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?”
