Tommy Fury says he has been feeling “low” after withdrawing from his fight with YouTuber Jake Paul, adding the bout was now “bigger than ever”.
The fight, which was due to take place in Florida on 18 December, was called off this month after the Briton suffered a bacterial chest infection and broken rib.
Fury, 22, described the withdrawal as a “major setback” on Instagram.
“Mentally I’ve been feeling pretty low,” he said.
“It’s a major setback for me but at the end of the day it’s the first time I’ve been on the opposite side.
“I’ve been there when everyone can’t get enough of you and is asking how you are, but when you have a setback like this you see the other side and people are messaging saying ‘you’re not a fighter, you’ve never been any good’.
“It’s been tough to deal with but I’m a mentally tough person. It’ll never get me down but it’s crazy to see how fickle some people can be.
“Going through something like this really does show who you’ve got around you but I’m over that part now and it’s on to the next.”
Professional boxer Fury and American Paul both have novice records, leading to the lucrative bout being widely criticised.
Fury said he only took the fight to make money and that a victory would have given him “no credit in the boxing world”, while Paul recently said Fury was “lucky” after he was forced to withdraw.
“I believe the fight is even bigger now,” Fury added.
“It’s unfinished business and my team is reaching out to his team to try and sort a date out for early next year.
“My recovery process is underway, it’s going as well as it can be. It’s a waiting game but time is a healer in this particular case.”
