Former WBC interim heavyweight champion Joe Joyce (16-2, 15 KOs) put on a Foreman-esque performance with a tenth-round knockout of journeyman Kash Ali (21-3, 12 KOs) in a confidence-booster-level fight on Saturday night at the World Resort Arena in Birmingham, England.
The big 6’6″, 286 lbs Joyce slowly wore down Kash with pressure and sledgehammer blows to tire him out. Joyce’s power looked as good as always, but his weight slowed him down, making it a slightly more difficult fight than it should have been.
Weighty Concerns
Joyce’s extra weight was a problem because he was way too heavy and couldn’t move around like he’d been accustomed to when he was fighting in his mid-250s. He’s been eating too well in the last two years, and tonight, it showed.
In the tenth round, Joyce landed a picture-perfect right hand to the head of Kash, dropping him like he’d been shot. To his credit, Kash got up and looked like he wanted to continue fighting, but referee Kevin Parker chose to stop the contest. The time of the stoppage was at 2:53 of round ten.
If the fight had been allowed to continue, Joyce would have immediately dropped Kash again because he was hurt, beaten up, and exhausted from the punishment that he’d endured.
Although Joyce’s shots looked slow throughout, they were heavy Foreman-like punches with a lot of weight and power behind them. Kash took too many of them tonight, and the end result was him being stopped. He was ready to be stopped in the seventh, but Joyce couldn’t finish him due to his slow hand speed and poor accuracy.
The 38-year-old Joyce’s win was his first since his 11th-round knockout of Joseph Parker in September 2022. In Joyce’s last two fights, he was knocked out by Zhilei Zhang.
After the second KO loss to Zhang, many boxing fans felt that Joyce was washed as a fighter, but he proved tonight that he still has a lot left in the tank. The only thing Joyce needs to do now is get in shape, lose 30 lbs, and be more active. If he’s lucky, the Saudis could choose him for one of their cards.
Other Results:
- Nathan Heaney (18-0-1, 6 KOs) and Brad Pauls (18-1-1, 10 KOs) fought to a grueling twelve round draw. The judges’ scorecards read 116-113 for Heaney, 115-114 for Pauls, and 114-114, allowing Heaney to retain his British title.
- Liam Davies vs. Erik Robles Ayala: Undefeated WBC #5, IBF #8, WBA #14 super bantamweight Liam Davies (16-0, 8 KOs) delivered a stunning second round KO against IBF #12 Erik Robles Ayala (15-2, 9 KOs), finishing the fight with a vicious uppercut and left hook combo at 1:17.
- Zach Parker vs. Tyron Zeuge: Super middleweight contender Zach Parker (24-1, 17 KOs) clinched a ten round unanimous decision victory over former WBA world champion Tyron Zeuge (27-2-1, 15 KOs), despite being knocked down in the second round. The judges scored the fight 96-94, 97-92, 98-91 in favor of Parker.
- Dennis McCann vs. Brad Strand: Unbeaten WBO #11 super featherweight Dennis McCann (15-0-1, 8 KOs) secured a twelve round unanimous decision win over Brad Strand (11-1, 3 KOs), including a knockdown in round two. The judges’ scores read 116-111, 116-112, 118-111.
- Eithan James vs. Owen Cooper: In a surprising turn of events, WBO #12 welterweight Eithan James (12-1, 0 KOs) was stopped by Owen Cooper (10-0, 4 KOs) after being dropped with a left hook in the first round and his corner calling it quits after nine rounds. Cooper took home the WBO European and English titles.
- Pierce O’Leary vs. Hovhannes Martirosyan: Unbeaten junior welterweight Pierce O’Leary (14-0, 8 KOs) stopped Hovhannes Martirosyan (16-1, 10 KOs) in the ninth round, defending his WBC International title.
