Price wins after Ali DQ’ed for biting him on torso

David Price branded Kash Ali “an animal” after his opponent was disqualified in the fifth round for biting him on the torso on Saturday.

Price (24-6, 20 KOs), 35, was piling on the pressure in the fifth round when former sparring partner Ali (15-1, 7 KOs) bit his torso when the pair fell to the floor in a clinch.

It was the second time Ali had been caught by referee Mark Lyson for sinking his teeth into his English rival in the non-title heavyweight contest at the M&S Bank Arena Liverpool (formerly the Echo Arena).

“It’s a disappointing way to win but I hurt him to the body before he completely lost his head,” Price said.

“He asked for a rematch but I don’t want to share a ring with animal like that again. The main thing is I move on.”

It was the second successive win on Price’s latest rehabilitation, and the 6-foot-8 Liverpool heavyweight now has three wins, three defeats in his past six fights.

Price’s career looked finished a year ago when he was victim of a sickening knockout against Alexander Povetkin, which wrecked his hopes of facing the division’s No. 1 Anthony Joshua.

It was not the first time Price’s punch resistance was exposed, and he suffered a further setback in September when he was forced to pull out at the end of the fourth round against Russia’s Sergey Kuzmin due to an injured right biceps.

Price, who halted Tom Little in four rounds in December, would have wanted to finish Ali on his own terms, but don’t count him out yet for getting a call to face one of the division’s big names later this year. After admitting he was not totally pleased with his performance against Ali, Price said he wants to face the winner of Australia’s Lucase Browne (28-1, 24 KOs) and England’s David Allen (16-4-2, 13 KOs), who meet in London on April 20.

Ali was warned for biting in round three, and later in the round was docked a point for hitting on the back of the head.

Price was always in control and Ali offered little threat. Price connected with a right uppercut in the fourth round, before the fight was prematurely finished in the fifth round when Ali bit Price again when the pair fell to the canvas together in a clinch.

It was an unsavoury act to see in a boxing ring, made all the more foolish by the fact that it was in clear view of the referee.