- Joyce worked to earn a well-deserved victory over Ali in Birmingham last night
- He lost the title race after back-to-back losses to Zhang last year.
- Joyce sent Ali to the canvas with seven seconds remaining in the fight.
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Joe Joyce scored a well-deserved victory in unconvincing fashion against Kash Ali in Birmingham on Saturday night.
The 38-year-old, who lost his unbeaten run in back-to-back defeats to Zhilei Zhang last year, was expected to make light work of his opponent last night.
But Joyce had to be patient as he worked to finish off Ali, who put up a strong effort against the big favorite.
With just seven seconds remaining in the tenth and final round, a right hand sent Ali to the canvas for the first time in the fight.
Ali got up, but was too slow to do so, giving Joyce a knockout victory.
Joe Joyce left late to secure a knockout victory over Kash Ali on Saturday night
Joyce sent Ali to the canvas in the final seconds of the fight to secure the KO victory
He was making his return to the ring after consecutive knockout losses to Zhilei Zhang
Ali came into the fight having fought just twice since 2021 due to injury, having also served a six-month ban in 2019 for biting David Price.
The victory takes Joyce to a 16-2 record as he hopes to challenge the big names in heavyweight boxing again in the future.
Joyce was undefeated through 2023 and looked set to challenge for the title against Alexander Usyk.
At the start of the fight, he called it a “fork in the road”, having gone from being next in line to challenge Usyk’s WBO title to being on the undercard at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham last night.
Joyce had to work hard against Ali who has only fought twice since 2021
He appeared to be next in line to face Oleksandr Usyk for the WBO title before his losses to Zhang last year.
But the Juggernaught fought with Zhang that saw him stunned in six rounds due to damage to his eye, before being brutally knocked out in the rematch.
His victory came on a card featuring Nathan Heaney’s clash with Brad Pauls for the British middleweight title.
Heaney retained his title despite a split draw in a thrilling main event.