Joe Joyce marked his return to action with a win on Saturday as he stopped Kash Ali in the final round of their all-British heavyweight encounter in Birmingham.
Joyce was looked to respond to back-to-back stoppage defeats to the heavy-hitting Zhilei Zhang in 2023, which cost him the WBO interim title while pegging him back significantly in his bid to earn a shot at a full world title.
A laboured performance might have been expected for the ‘The Juggernaut’ on a night when the result held more weight than the display as Joyce looks to resume his climb towards the division’s frontrunners.
The 2016 Olympic silver medallist, who weighed in at close to 20-and-a-half stone, had been made to work hard against his 32-year-old opponent and didn’t find joy until the seventh round.
As the pair traded shots in the final exchanges, Joyce produced the decisive blow with a thumping right jab to leave Ali on the canvas before being counted out by the referee in the final 30 seconds of the 10th and final round.
Ali entered the fight having fought just twice since 2021 due to injury, having also previously served a six-month ban in 2019 for biting David Price.
The victory lifts Joyce, who will be 39 in September, to 16-2 in his career and back on the road to challenging the big names in heavyweight boxing.
Later in the night Liam Davies became the new IBO super-bantamweight world champion as he stopped Erik Robles Ayala of Mexico, before Nathan Heaney remained British middleweight champion after a draw against Brad Pauls.
