“It’s official, he was scared. I think the pressure got to him, the s*** talk got to him.”
The UK boxer, who has won all seven of his professional fights to date, had previously said that he only took the fight to make money and that a victory would have given him “no credit in the boxing world”.
Fury, who also had little amateur pedigree with just 12 fights before he turned pro, propelled to stardom on the reality TV series Love Island and has since established a perfect record in the paid ranks.
Paul has a professional record of four wins, against social media celebrity AnEsonGib, former NBA star Nate Robinson and MMA fighters Ben Askren and Woodley, who he aims to defeat for the second time in a row.