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James DeGale, Tony Bellew, Amir Khan And Others React To George Groves’ Win

Written by Patrik Kuitunen on 19th February 2018.

Chris Eubank Jr had the hype and the bookies behind him when entering the ring to challenge George Groves for the WBA World super middleweight title but in the end, it was Groves who put on an unsurprising boxing performance in Manchester.

Eubank Jr got outboxed and eliminated from the World Boxing Super Series tournament by ‘The Saint’ and sure enough, a lot of other boxers have commented on the bout one way or another.

Prince Naseem Hamed immediately made headlines when he said that Eubank Jr should retire after the fight on live television.

“Listen, it sounds terrible [but] I think he should finish. Is this guy a world beater? No he is not. In two years, or three years he still won’t be a world beater.”
“Which camera can I look into to tell Chris Eubank Jr to finish,” he continued. ” I prefer him to finish, I don’t want to see him get hurt.”
“I give him the most credit for dislocating his shoulder in the last round and still fighting with one arm and still winning. He’s not who you thought he was,” said Hamed.
Former IBF World super middleweight champion James DeGale lashed out at the Eubanks online after the fight.
‘Chunky’ wrote rather unapologetically about Eubank Jr being ‘the biggest hype job’ that DeGale has ever seen in boxing.
“You are the biggest hype job I’ve ever known… you and your father going around telling you are a killer! YOU should be very embarrassed… now go crawl back under your rock,” tweeted DeGale to the Eubanks.
Tony Bellew also posted his thoughts on the fight and wrote that the end result should be no surprise to anyone who understands boxing.
“Don’t kick a man when he’s down… George boxed a good fight tonight and won pretty easily imo! Just go back to my original post on this fight! Hype helps sell fights YES! But shouldn’t BELIEVE THE HYPE! If you understand boxing then tonight wasn’t a shock imo,” tweeted ‘The Bomber.’
Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Eddie Hearn and Billy Joe Saunders also shared their opinions on social media.

Former world champion Kell Brook put out a more thoughtful tweet and explained why in his view Eubank Jr is not an elite fighter.

Groves now advances to the super middleweight final and will face the winner of Callum Smith versus Jurgen Braehmer in May.

READ MORE:

George Groves gives injury update

Trainer Shane McGuigan praises Groves after win

George Groves outsmarts Chris Eubank Jr in Manchester