An all-British heavyweight boxing bout came to a controversial end in Liverpool when Birmingham's Kash Ali was disqualified from his bout with former British, English and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price.
The contest was on the undercard of the Liam Smith vs Sam Eggington card in Liverpool, England, with hopes high that the contest would help warm up the local crowd, who were expected to cheer on local man Price.
And the crowd were left disgusted after a frustrated Ali, who was being comprehensively beaten, executed an MMA-style takedown on Price, then proceeded to bite the Liverpudlian fighter on the stomach.
It was the second time in the fight that Price complained of being bitten by Ali, with the referee Mark Lyson unable to punish the Birmingham man having not seen the incident.
But the bite on the ground was spotted by the official, who had already taken a point from Ali for illegal "rabbit" punches to the back of Price's head.
Ali and Price had a previous relationship in the sport, with the former acting as a sparring partner for Price earlier in their respective careers.
But Ali's fifth-round bite will have left his boxing career in jeopardy, with a lengthy ban likely to be heading his way from the British Boxing Board of Control, who were the sanctioning body for the event.
There was a certain irony to Ali using a bite to get out of the contest given his fighting talk in the pre-fight interviews.
"I’m younger, I’m fresher. I’m made for this," he boldly declared.
"This is my first chance on the big stage and I’m going to make it count.
"There could be 10 of him in the ring and I’d go through every single one. He’s always been a quitter. He’s quit before and he’ll quit again. I’m ending his career."
Incredibly, Price revealed after the fight that Ali had asked him for a rematch. But the six-foot-eight Scouser turned down the request, saying: "I don't want to share the ring again with an animal like that.
"He did a couple [of bites] early on and I thought he had lost his head completely. I hurt him to the body just before the final bite."
Ali's actions were widely criticized, with former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew telling UK broadcaster Sky Sports that Ali should not be allowed to box again.
Calling Ali "a disgrace," Bellew said: "He shouldn’t be allowed back in a boxing ring ever again.
"He should not be paid for the fight – give the money to grassroots boxing and help develop amateur boxing," he said.
"Biting a man when he’s on the floor… there aren’t many things lower."
Ali was showered by drinks as the irate Liverpool crowd pelted the shamed Birmingham fighter as he made his way back the dressing rooms.
And there was no sympathy for Ali from promoter Eddie Hearn, who tweeted simply: "Rule #1. Don’t bite a Scouser in Liverpool."
But one man thought Ali didn't go far enough, well, sort of.
Boxer Anthony Sims Jr. offered his critique of Ali's biting technique, criticizing not the bite, but the "biteology" involved.
Source : RT - Daily news
Bite night: Heavyweight boxer Kash Ali disqualified and pelted with drinks after BITING David Price
Bite night: Heavyweight boxer Kash Ali disqualified and pelted with drinks after BITING David Price