Beyond the sniping, abuse and general craziness that comes with giving anyone in the world a platform, Twitter can sometimes actually be a nice place.

Motivational hashtags, pictures of sunsets and lots and lots of cute animals are just some of the more positive corners of the social media landscape.

So it was into this space that a young boy and aspiring sportsman named Zachary tentatively dipped a toe on Wednesday morning, when his father asked boxing legend Chris Eubank for some words of wisdom.

Eubank’s reply was positively soul-destroying.

He said: “Don’t do it Zachary. If U take up boxing, U can never fight outside the ring, U have to always protect people.

“U have to be continuously chivalrous which will give you distinction that will make U the odd one out, because U will become a hero to the masses which is very lonely.”

Bloody hell mate.

The tone of the replies to the tweet was one of general astonishment.

But Zachary’s father, Ben, took a different view, telling HuffPost UK in a tweet: “Chris Eubank is my favourite boxer and I’m a little excited about my boys first fight. Everyone gets a trophy and he is excited.

“It’s a bit of fun but it’s all he likes doing. I think he wants to be a ninja when he is older. Wise words from my favourite boxer.”

Eubank soared to fame as one of the UK’s all-time greatest boxers in the 80s and 90s.

He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles, but is perhaps best remembered for his eccentric personality and unique dress sense.

Eubank’s son, also named Chris, has taken on the family trade and is due to fight James DeGale in a super-middleweight championship contest next week.