Chris Eubank Jr mocks Billy Joe Saunders after betting £10,000 on Canelo Alvarez to win by knockout

Saunders retired on his stool after eight rounds after sustaining a suspected broken eye socket

(Instagram/chriseubankjr)

Chris Eubank Jr mocked Billy Joe Saunders on Instagram after betting £10,000 on the Briton to not see the final bell against Canelo Alvarez.

Saunders fought valiantly in front of 73,000 in Texas but retired on his stool after a vicious uppercut in the eighth round appeared to break his right eye socket.

Eubank, who suffered his first professional defeat against Saunders in 2014, posted several stories on Instagram as he watched the end of the fight. “‘Give me the ten grand baby, give me the ten grand,” he shouted into the camera.

Eubank, who returned to the ring against Marcus Morrison on the undercard of Joseph Parker’s victory over Derek Chisora, later wrote on Twitter: “‘Canelo if you want a Brit to give you a real fight… I’m ready and waiting.”

Saunders was taken to a local hospital in Texas after the fight and faces a lengthy period of recovery if his orbital bone is fractured as is suspected.

The 31-year-old has already won two world titles and has little left to prove, however, if he does decide to return the ring, a rematch against Eubank Jr remains a lucrative pay-per-view contest.

Other fighters were more gracious in their reactions to Saunders’ defeat. Carl Froch, who was calling the fight ringside, said: “Billy Joe Saunders did very well first and foremost. He was brave in there. I could hear those body shots crunching. I thought he boxed well, put his shots together well, he was landing the jab, he was in the fight. It was just the power-punching from Canelo that was so evident and devastating.

“Billy Joe was as brave as you like. If I’m going to war, he’s next to me. That was some performance.”