Tommy Fury has claimed Jake Paul made a swift decision over their fight date which threatened to derail his plans.

Fury and Paul met in a blockbuster social media showdown last February, in which the natural boxer was able to edge a win on the judges scorecards despite being knocked down late on.

Fury narrowly beat Paul in a tough encounterGetty

It had been a tough challenge to get the pair in the ring, but Fury was forced to accept the fight just months before his ex-partner Molly Mae Hague was due to give birth to their daughter Bambi.

And in his new book Lightning Can Strike Twice: My Life as a Fury, the Briton believes the date was tactically placed by his rival to unsettle his preparations.

He wrote: ”The date was set for 26 February 2023. Now, this was not a good news.

“My baby was due the month before, which meant I would be training throughout the end of Molly’s pregnancy, the birth, and then be away for the first week’s of my daughter’s life.

“I think Jake Paul was being crafty because he knew it would disrupt my training and throw me off.

“It was now or never and if it was never, I knew I would be stuck with the ghost of this fight for years to come.”

Fury went on to explain how difficult his training days were in the build-up to the career-defining night.

“I spent nights up with the baby supporting Molly,” he continued.

“In the morning, I dashed to Euston and got the train to Manchester, where I trained and sparred, before heading back to the station and then to the hospital for the evening.

“I did this for five days. I grabbed sleep wherever I could, whether it was on the train or on the sofa in the hospital room.

Fury has revealed the build-up to the fight was extremely toughGetty

“I don’t know how I did it, but I did.”

Despite the circumstances, Fury was able to get his hand raised in what would have been a tough pill to swallow had he lost.

He then went on to fight and beat YouTube star KSI in October of that year, as he worked his way through the influencer boxing scene.

Links have always remained of a repeat clash between Paul and Fury, but it hasn’t yet materialised.

Paul’s advisor Nikisa Bidarian believes an offer is on the table for the pair to meet again, and even in a trilogy in MMA.

“Jake has said to Tommy he’s willing to fight him in boxing,” he said.

“And if Jake wins, he’s willing to enter the SmartCage in PFL with Tommy and again give him another payday close to eight figures to do that.

“So, there’s a path there where it’s worth close to $20 million of guaranteed money to reengage in the Jake Paul competition, effectively.”