Kash Ali’s boxing licence has been suspended pending a hearing, the British Boxing Board of Control has announced. Ali was disqualified for biting David Price during Saturday’s heavyweight bout and has also had his purse, estimated to be in the region of £20,000, withheld, minus expenses.

The incident happened in round five when Price, 35, landed a fierce blow on the previously undefeated Ali. He reacted by forcing his opponent to the canvas where he was seen to bite the Liverpudlian, leaving a visible mark on his torso.

The referee, Mark Lyson, who had earlier docked Ali a point for hitting the back of Price’s head, immediately disqualified him and awarded the victory to Price, who had been ahead on the scorecards.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bite marks were visible on David Price’s torso. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images

Ali left the M&S Bank Arena under a barrage of drinks thrown by spectators and admitted shortly after the fight that he had been “stupid”.

Price is still bemused by the incident, though he knows he did the right thing by avoiding further confrontation following the premature ending.

He told talkSPORT: “When he was on the floor on top of me he went a bit limp and I thought ‘he doesn’t want to get up here’, I thought he’d at least try to get up.

“The next thing I felt was his teeth sink in and I didn’t know what to do, really, it all happened quickly. It was just a bit of a mad experience.

“When I stood up and first went over to him, part of me wanted to just lay him out there and then. I thought better of it because it would have got myself in a load of trouble and it would have caused a lot of trouble on the night. I don’t know whether it’s out of character for him or not because I’ve sparred with him quite a bit and I’ve always found him to be pretty respectful.

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“I just don’t know whether the buildup and the press conferences got him riled up and when he’s realised that beating me isn’t as easy as everyone seems to think, he’s thought ‘I’ll take the exit route and give him a little bite’.”

In one of the few precedents in Britain, middleweight Adrian Dodson was banned for 18 months in 1999 after being found guilty of biting opponent Alain Bonnamie.