Kell Brook might have only lasted five rounds against Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night, but he didn’t exactly disgrace himself.
Having stepped up two divisions to face the Kazakh, Brook landed plenty of impressive punches at O2 Arena, as the early rounds were more evenly contested than many had expected.
However, having sustained a fractured eye socket in the second round, the Briton struggled with blurred vision and Golovkin gradually began to dominate.
With the shots raining down on Brook in round five, the 30-year-old’s trainer Dominic Ingle decided the time was right to throw in the towel.
While many saluted Brook’s bravery in the immediate aftermath of the fight, Chris Eubank Jr took a different approach.
In a tweet to Golovkin, the 26-year-old made it clear that he’d be willing to be his next opponent, suggesting he was a ‘real’ British middleweight and that his corner wouldn’t be throwing in any towels.
@GGGBoxing if you want a fight with a real British Middleweight… come get some. My corner don't own towels. pic.twitter.com/gPJWSqwEDm
— Chris Eubank Jr (@ChrisEubankJr) September 10, 2016
The tweet drew plenty of criticism from those on Twitter, with Barry Hearn – father of Brook’s promoter, Eddie – describing it as ‘shameful’.
Possibly the most ignorant comment I have ever read on social media. Shameful.
— Barry Hearn (@BarryHearn) September 10, 2016
Others were also quick to criticise the tweet, with many pointing out that Brook had taken the fight on after Eubank Jr had appeared to turn turn down the chance to fight GGG.
Earlier in the year, Golovkin claimed on Twitter that he had agreed to face Eubank Jr, and suggested that the Brit had reservations about facing him.
‘Everything is agreed from our side,’ he tweeted. ‘Now waiting for @ChrisEubankJr, who all of a sudden has lost his pen.’
@BoxingFanatic_ @ChrisEubankJr @GGGBoxing if they don't own towels, what does his dad use to wipe his arse ?
— Elliot (ell9uk) (@ell9uk) September 11, 2016
stop now you are boring. Lost your pen!
— Martin Jessopp (@MartinJessopp) September 10, 2016
https://twitter.com/Greenzeroboxing/status/774738751398539264
Look at this muppet
— Frank Craig (@FrankCraig13) September 10, 2016
https://twitter.com/PapaBeats/status/774738968575406080
