JAKE PAUL insists the vulnerability he showed after losing to Tommy Fury only made him a more popular prizefighter.
The YouTuber-turned boxer tasted defeat for the first time in seven bouts last February, in a split-decision to Fury in Saudi Arabia.
Amid excuses of illness and injury, Paul spoke openly and honestly about pulling himself back from the pain of defeat.
And ahead of his return to the ring over the weekend, against ex-UFC star Nate Diaz live on DAZN PPV, the American feels more loved than ever.
Paul, 26, said: "It’s weird, I think it’s actually made my brand bigger.
"I think my vulnerability post-fight with the things I was sharing on my show, my podcast, doing other podcast and interviews and such and my social media, I think people saw a human side of me that they maybe hadn’t seen before.
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“So I think there was this relatable thing that actually connected me more with my audience.
"Now I’m fighting to show these kids who are maybe taking losses in their lives on a daily basis – it might not be boxing it could be anything – I’m showing them how to come back.
“How to recover, how to not let the world beat you up and defeat you and to actually come back stronger, come back harder and use it all as fuel.
“I think maybe people are seeing that and maybe they’ve gained some respect for me.”
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Many predicted and possibly prayed Paul's polarising boxing career would be KO'd after his unbeaten record went.
But instead, he boasted of returning in a bigger and better fight than even a rematch with Fury, 24, would have made for.
Paul said: "After losing to Tommy I landed myself a bigger name and a bigger fight in terms of the ticket sales, the commercial pay-per-view.
“Everything is pointing towards this being the biggest event ever and I didn’t think that would be possible after losing to Tommy.
“So it’s interesting, I guess you can’t predict these things but I guess the number one thing is if people want to still see my fight then I’ll still have big fights.
“It’s really the fanbase that drives me, right. It’s like Deontay Wilder losing a couple of times to Tyson Fury but everyone still wants to see him fight.
“It all just depends and it’s really how you go out. If you’re going to get knocked out but if you lose a split-decision and it’s a war and it’s a good fight, it’s a lot easier to come back from that.”
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