Kash Ali takes plusses from brave defeat to Joe Joyce

Ali was knocked out just seconds from the end of his contest with the top-ten contender in Birmingham last Saturday after a brave showing against a man more than three stones heavier.

The Rotherham fighter caught Joyce with several clubbing overhand right hands before succumbing to the non-stop pressure and body shots of the former Olympics silver medallist.

It was a drastically different performance from Ali’s last high-profile fight against David Price five years ago which resulted in a six-month ban for biting his opponent.

"People said ‘Kash Ali can’t do rounds, he bit Price etc.’ I’ve just done ten rounds with a world level fighter,” Ali told the Advertiser.

"Not many people never gave me a chance. They said it would go one or two rounds.

“I took some good shots and caught him with some good shots.

"When I got put down I got straight back up. I don’t think it should have been stopped but you can’t go back.

“I showed spirit in there and the people who said I didn’t have any heart will think differently now.”

“Juggernaut” Joyce is known for his come-forward style and for his punch resistance .

And despite criticism of his heavy weight and his laboured performance on his comeback from two defeats to before his two defeats to China’s Zhelei Zhang last year, he showed he could still take a good shot.

"He’s a big man, a tough man,” said Ali.

“I caught him with some big right hands but he kept walking forward.

"In all honesty I’m convinced that some of the right hands Joe Joyce took from me would knock out a lot of heavyweights, whether top ten or top 15 in the world.

"Maybe Joyce was getting rocked in there, I don’t know, but he definitely had to take them.”

At 32, Ali isn’t old for an heavyweight and the Joyce loss was only the third of his 24-fight pro career.

However after fighting only three times in two years, not least due to injuries, the Richard Towers-trained fighter intends to be more active.

"I’d fought twice in two years up to Saturday and that doesn’t help,” he said.

“I fought the Ukranian kid (Bohdan Myronets) last year and he wasn’t a bad fighter but I have jumped to a big fight.

"I’d never gone more than six rounds before Saturday. I’ve just fought ten intense rounds and the experience has made me a better fighter and given me even more confidence.

"It has added more to my game.”

Looking at his future prospects in a stacked heavyweight division, he added: "Joe Joyce knocked out Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker and will look at those two now and how they’ve come back.

"I know I will come again, maybe drop down to British level and go again.

"Boxers need to be active so hopefully I can fight again at the end of the summer and then again before Christmas, that would be realistic.

"I stlll have more to show and more to give."