Tyson Fury, who is set to manage at Old Trafford with Wayne Rooney, has previously been taunted by British boxing rivals Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua over his name
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Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney will co-manage England at Soccer Aid
Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney will co-manage England at Soccer Aid
(Image: Soccer Aid 2025/PA Wire)
Speculation that Tyson Fury is not the boxing hero and Soccer Aid boss' real name is wide of the mark.
Rumours that Fury has hidden his true identity have been fuelled by two of his biggest domestic rivals, Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua. Fury and Whyte fought at Wembley in 2022, with the Gypsy King securing a sixth-round knockout in front of 90,000 fans to retain his world titles.
The following year, Whyte took a verbal jab at Fury by claiming his first name was 'Luke', not Tyson. The Body Snatcher told The Sun: "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. How can you trust a man who doesn't even use his own name?"
Meanwhile, as he vented his frustration over the tedious negotiations for their much-demanded fight, Joshua took a jab at Fury's alleged true identity during a social media tirade in 2021. He posted: "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."
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte both tried to get under Fury's skin by calling him 'Luke'
But allegations that his first name isn't really Tyson are unsubstantiated. Reputable sources, such as boxing stats site BoxRec and Companies House, the official UK record of companies, both identify his middle name as 'Luke', not his forename.
According to Fury and his father, John, he was named after the legendary boxer Mike Tyson, a nod to his own remarkable fight for life after being born eight weeks premature.
Tyson told Fight Hub TV: "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.
"My dad was a huge boxing fan and he was also a professional boxer, so he called me after his greatest ever fighter, Mike. He called me Tyson, it was my dad's favourite fighter. Mike Tyson's heyday was in 1988 [the year Fury was born] - very fitting that I should go on to be the heavyweight champion of the world."
Mike Tyson
Fury was named after his dad's boxing hero, Mike Tyson
Having announced his retirement from boxing in January, following his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk, Fury is currently focusing on football. Alongside Wayne Rooney, he will co-manage England against a Soccer Aid World XI at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Upon his appointment, Manchester United fan Fury said: "I might put a bit of the old boxing side of it into the footballers, and see if we can make them a little bit tougher, a little bit fitter.
"Some of these guys are getting on a bit, whip them back into shape [with] body sparring, heavy bag drills, pad work, I can think of a lot of stuff."
The 36-year-old said he was "keen to get a victory" in the game, which raises money for children's aid charity Unicef, adding he was "coming here to put pressure on these lads to win".