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Tyson Fury explains to Mike Tyson how he came to be named after the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’

Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury

The connection between Tyson Fury and Mike Tyson has come full circle with the ‘Gypsy King’ explaining to the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ how they came to share the same name.

Fury appeared as a guest on Tyson’s popular Hotboxin’ podcast where he discussed his father John’s obsession with the youngest ever heavyweight champion when he was tearing through the division in the 1980s and early 1990s.

“I’m named after Mike, yes. I’ll tell you how it happened,” said Fury in comments published by World Boxing News. “My dad was a professional boxer in the late ‘80’s early ‘90’s – a heavyweight and his hero was you.

“So when I was born August 12, 1988, I came into the world and I was eight weeks premature. I was dying, I wasn’t supposed to live.

“But when I lived my dad said I’m going to call you after my favourite heavyweight Tyson.

“The doctor said no that’s not going to be a good name, he’s not going to be very big this guy.

“When I was born, I only weighed one-pound in weight. I was tiny, but I grew up to be 6ft 9in and 265-pounds. It’s crazy,” he added.

Fury went on to give Tyson a history lesson on traveller fighting culture.

“It goes back thousands of years,” he continued. “Yeah, they’ve been around since Christ, they’ve been moving from country to country. Every country you go to around the world you find Gypsies.

“It’s not a religion, no, it’s like a culture. The only thing we want to do is fight which is why I become a boxer.”