By Edward Chaykovsky
British middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr. (23-1, 18KOs) took a lot of heat from the fans when he lashed out on Saturday night at IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs).
After Golovkin picked up a fifth round stoppage over IBF welterweight champion Kell 'Special K' Brook (36-1, 25KOs), who moved up by thirteen pounds to face Golovkin at the full middleweight limit of 160-pounds, Eubank Jr. took to the social networks and took a verbal shot at Golovkin - and in turn took a shot at Brook at the same time.
Brook was not the original opponent who was slated to face Golovkin on Saturday night. Eubank Jr. was the opponent of choice for that date at the O2 Arena. After Eubank Jr. allowed a contract deadline to pass, Hearn reached out to another fighter in his stable, Brook, who immediately accepted the deal.
Brook did very well in the fight, but suffered a fractured eye socket in the second round and the injury grew worse as the fight continued. His trainer Dominic Ingle unexpectedly threw in the towel in the fifth after he fighter began to experience issues with his vision.
"Golovkin, if you want a fight with a real British middleweight... come get some. My corner don't own towels," Eubank stated.
That statement drew a lot of negative attention to Eubank Jr. The fight says he meant no disrespect to Brook or Ingle's decision to pull him out in the fifth round.
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) is set to discuss Eubank Jr's comment on Wednesday and there could be sanctions.
"It wasn't meant as any disrespect to anybody, it's just the fact of how I have been brought up as a fighter to hold myself in the ring. You don't look to try and end the fight - the only person who is supposed to be stopping the fight is the referee," Eubank said to Sky Sports.
"The corner is there to help you clean your cuts up and put your Vaseline on, not to throw in the towel. If the going gets tough, you stay in there and take your beating like a man. That's what we sign up for, and that's all I meant when I said my corner don't throw in towels. They would never do that for me, they would let me try and win, try and get out of a sticky situation. Just because you are getting hurt doesn't mean you can't come back and win."
"I've been gunning for this [Golovkin] fight for a long time - I keep saying it and I am going to keep saying it until I am in the ring with him. I want his belts and I'm coming for them, nothing is going to stop me.
"This is my dream and I have been working for it my entire career, to become middleweight champion. Everyone thinks this guy is untouchable, unbeatable, he's just not."
