Rotherham heavyweight Kash Ali stops Sheffield rival David Howe in two rounds

The Rotherham powerhouse TKO’d Howe in the second round on a show in Birmingham on Saturday, to claim the vacant Central Area title.

Ali had been absent for more than a year through injury.

But the fight favourite made no mistake in the way he dealt with Sheffield’s Howe, sending a message out to other big boys in the division.

Howe had been keeping his distance with a left jab but a solid right hand from Ali connected high to the left of his face and he slipped to the canvas.

Howe fell heavily on his shoulder, tried to get up but slipped backwards.

As he reached for the ropes to try and help him get to his feet, the referee stepped in and waved the match over.

It was Ali’s 12th straight victory.

For Howe, it is time to look again at where he is going in his career.

He has lost seven of his last 11 fights - all but one of them stoppages.

Meanwhile South Yorkshire-trained super welterweight Serge Ambomo, originally from Cameroon, was beaten on points by Chris Kongo at the 02 Arena London on the undercard of Dillian Whyte v Lucas Browne. Whyte catapulted himself into world heavyweight title contention with a chilling sixth-round knockout over the previously unbeaten Browne.

Anthony Fowler also beat Kalilou Dembele.