Tyson Fury's future in boxing is in serious jeopardy after explosive allegations that a member of his team offered a farmer £25,000 to lie about how he failed a drugs test in 2015.

The astonishing claims, revealed exclusively by The Mail on Sunday, centre on positive tests returned by Fury and his cousin Hughie in February 2015 for the banned steroid nandrolone, which they blamed on eating uncastrated wild boar or contaminated supplements.

They received what were considered lenient backdated bans of two years before resuming their careers in December 2017, enabling a return to prominence that culminated last month with Fury beating Deontay Wilder for the WBC heavyweight world title.

Tyson Fury's boxing future is in jeopardy after fresh allegations were made against the boxer

Shocking new claims centre around Fury's failed drugs test before he won world titles in 2015

While the cousins insisted to UK Anti-Doping investigators at the time that they never intentionally cheated, they face remarkable claims from a Lancashire farmer, Martin Carefoot, who alleges that:

He was asked to ‘lie’ by saying he supplied wild boar to the Furys, despite having never done so.

He was promised £25,000 for his help but was never paid.

He signed two witness statements confirming he had been the supplier to Team Fury, which were forwarded to UKAD via lawyers.

UK Anti-Doping has been made aware of the startling new information by The Mail on Sunday and will look into claims that throw a huge cloud over Fury and his cousin, who also challenged unsuccessfully for a WBO heavyweight world title in 2017. Neither Tyson nor Hughie Fury have responded to a request to comment made to their management company, MTK Global.

A statement from UKAD to The Mail on Sunday read: ‘We will always review any potential evidence in relation to any anti-doping offence, and take investigatory action where necessary. If anyone has information that could be of interest to UKAD and its investigations on any matter, we urge them to contact us.’

Tyson and cousin Hughie (left) failed drugs tests for the anabolic steroid nandrolone

Team Fury claimed that the positive test results came from eating uncastrated wild boar

The Furys’ saga started in February 2015 when Tyson and Hughie tested positive for metabolites of nandrolone after their respective fights that month against Christian Hammer and Andriy Rudenko. Crucially, they were not charged until 16 months later in June 2016, by which point Tyson Fury was unified champion of the world after beating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.

With that charge being investigated by UK Anti-Doping, and the consumption of wild boar used as central to the Furys’ explanation, Carefoot claims he was visited in November 2016 at his farmhouse near Preston by a friend who knew a member of the Fury entourage. Carefoot alleges he was asked to lie by saying he sourced the boar for the Furys, despite having never delivered boar to them.

In 2017, Carefoot completed two signed witness statements to say he provided wild boar to the Furys which were passed to the boxers’ lawyers, Morgan Sports Law, who gave them to anti-doping investigators. The second included a line that read: ‘I supplied a range of animal meats and offal to Team Fury, including wild boar and pigs’. Carefoot now claims those statements, which are in the possession of The Mail on Sunday, were lies.

Martin Carefoot claims Team Fury offered him £25,000 to provide false evidence to UKAD

The farmer from Preston told the governing body he had provided Fury with the meat product

He said: ‘I have never kept wild boar. I have never killed a wild boar.’

In making the allegation that he received an offer of £25,000 for his help, Carefoot told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I just went along with it, and they always dangled this carrot that I was going to get paid. When things got quite serious, they offered me a sum of money before it went to court in London, and a sum of money after. I went along with them because, I suppose, in my own way I was just helping them out.’

The case was ultimately settled by a compromise between the Furys and UKAD before it could be heard by the National Anti-Doping Panel in December 2017.

When asked if he had been willing to commit perjury for the Furys, Carefoot said: ‘I suppose if I’d had to. I was in too deep. They were dangling this carrot. I thought ‘‘you’re going to get 25 grand for this, it’s not a hanging matter’’. So I went along with it.’

Fury was handed a backdated two-year ban and has since gone on to win a world title again

Carefoot, who says he was never paid the money he claims he was promised, added: ‘I feel sick of the lies and deceit and the public need to know the truth.’

UKAD did not answer The Mail on Sunday’s question of whether Carefoot’s declarations were used in its investigation but a source confirmed he is familiar to the organisation. His claims that a key element of the Furys’ defence was built on a lie will spark pressure for UKAD to re-open its investigation.

The backdated two-year bans were deemed lenient, particularly in Tyson Fury’s case as he originally faced two charges, one for the failed test in February 2015 and a second for refusing to take a test on September 7, 2016. Each carried a potential penalty of four years but the second was contentiously dropped by UKAD and the first heavily compromised by the 16-month delay in bringing the charge.

The allegations made by Carefoot cast huge doubts over Fury's future in boxing

Fury's promoter Frank Warren has hit back at the claims revealed by the Mail on Sunday

The official decision documents list the Furys’ defence ‘on the basis that they came from ingestion of offal of uncastrated wild boar or pig, or alternatively from contaminated supplements’.

UKAD, which spent close to £600,000 on the investigation, faced heavy criticism for the delayed timeframe in which it crucially failed to put the Furys on notice, hindering the fighters’ ability to prove the source of contamination. With the case due before a hearing in December 2017, a late compromise was announced that month in which both fighters were permitted to resume boxing almost immediately in return for backdated bans.

Tyson Fury has since returned to the pinnacle of the sport and is now in discussions about a third mega-money fight with Wilder ahead of a potential all-British blockbuster with Anthony Joshua.

His co-promoter Frank Warren told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Back then, I was not promoting Tyson. These allegations are totally unfounded and libellous. You are dealing with a man (Carefoot) who is an admitted liar.

‘Did Tyson ever have a conversation with this man? Which supposed member of Fury’s team did have a conversation with this man? You are relying on the word of a liar. Did he lie back then or is he lying now? This is a man who was willing to commit perjury.’

FURY'S ROCKY ROAD TO GLORY Dec 6, 2008 Wins his pro debut with first-round TKO. Nov 28, 2015 New world heavyweight champion as he beats Wladimir Klitschko. Jun 24, 2016 Rematch with Klitschko called off as Fury sprains ankle. Jun 24, 2016 Fury and his cousin Hughie Fury charged by UK Anti-Doping with presence of a prohibited substance from sample taken in Feb 2015. Both deny the charge. Sep 22, 2016 Fury takes a urine test in Lancaster. Sep 23, 2016 Postpones Klitschko fight after being declared ‘medically unfit’. It is reported Fury had failed a drug test for cocaine the day before. He says he had problems with depression. Oct 4, 2016 In an interview, Fury says he had been ‘going through a lot of personal demons’. Oct 12, 2016 He vacates the WBA and WBO heavyweight titles. Oct 13, 2016 British Boxing Board of Control suspends his licence. Sep 18, 2017 Fury challenges UKAD to reinstate his licence. Dec 11, 2017 He does not attend hearing into his doping violations. Dec 12, 2017 UKAD announces that a two-year ban would be backdated and would end at midnight. Fury blames his nandrolone levels on eating uncastrated wild boar. Jan 19, 2018 BBBofC agrees to re-instate Fury provided he sends them up-to-date medical records after visiting a psychologist. Apr 12, 2018 He announces he has signed a multi-fight deal with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. Jun 9, 2018 Fury beats Albanian Sefer Seferi with fourth-round TKO in his comeback fight. Aug 18, 2018 He continues his comeback with points win against Italian Francesco Pianeta. Dec 1, 2018 Fury climbs off the canvas in the 12th round to earn split decision draw with Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles. Feb 22, 2020 He dominates rematch against Wilder in Las Vegas which ends midway through the seventh round when the American’s corner throw in the towel. Advertisement

UKAD, which spent close to £600,000 on the investigation, faced heavy criticism for the delayed timeframe in which they crucially failed to put the Furys on notice, hindering the fighters' ability to prove the source of contamination. With the case due before a hearing in December 2017, a late compromise was announced that month in which both fighters were permitted to resume boxing almost immediately in return for backdated bans.

Tyson Fury has since returned to the pinnacle of the sport and is now in discussions about a third mega-money fight with Wilder ahead of a potential all-British blockbuster with Anthony Joshua.

His co-promoter Frank Warren told The Mail on Sunday: 'Back then, I was not promoting Tyson. These allegations are totally unfounded and libellous. You are dealing with a man (Carefoot) who is an admitted liar.

'Did Tyson ever have a conversation with this man? Which supposed member of Fury's team did have a conversation with this man? You are relying on the word of a liar. Did he lie back then or is he lying now? This is a man who was willing to commit perjury.'