Rotherham boxer Kash Ali tipped to come back strong from six-month ban for biting

Ali has been banned for six months and fined £10,000 following his disqualification in the fifth round of last month’s bout in Liverpool.

The Rotherham-based fighter offered a swift apology and promised it wouldn’t happen again, saying he was hugely embarrassed by his actions. He grappled with the home-town fighter on the floor of the ring after which a bite mark was clearly visible on the torso.

Ali received support from former Ingle Gym stablemate Atif Shafiq, who insisted his friend was not a bad person and had “made a mistake under pressure on the big stage.”

The defeat to Price was the first of Ali’s professional career and he will now plot a way back under trainer Adam Etches.

Etches said: “Kash is one of the nicest kids you could ever meet so for him to do that is completely out of character. He lost his head and the occasion got to him.

“What he did was completely wrong. He’s knows that, I know that, we all know that.

“He has done the crime and he’ll do the time and go again and show everyone the real Kash.

“He’ll be back. He’s got to dust himself down and go again.”