Zain Ali struggles in below par pro debut

Rogers look full of confidence before the verdict is announced

LET’S tell it as it is. Let’s not massage the truth.

Zain Ali made a disappointment professional debut on BCB’s big title show at the Holiday Inn, in Birmingham city centre, last night. He failed to shine. He has to perform better than that.

In Leicestershire’s George Rogers, the Alum Rock fighter faced a man who had won only one of 33 contests (four draws).

He was there – and let’s make no bones about it – to ease 24-year-old Ali into the pro game with a win.

Instead, Ali inexplicably switched off from the midway point of their four rounder. He needlessly gave ground, looked for single shots and allowed Griffiths’ ambition to grow.

Thankfully, Ali (11st 4lbs 4oz) came away with a draw, 38-38 on referee Ryan Churchill’s card, which tallied with mine.

There are mitigating circumstances. This was Ali’s first fight since 2019, but he’s now a professional and must, therefore, be judged as such.

The cast in an amateur dramatics production can be forgiven for fluffing their lines, professional actors cannot.

Zain, a product of Nechells Green ABC, must show marked improvement in his next outing.

And Dan Breeze, a former quality pro who has guided Ali’s professional preparation, knows it. He watched grim faced as the bout deteriorated for his boxer.

“The fitness is there,” he told me, “he’s just got to believe in his fitness.”

“He’s been out for four years and nerves were a massive factor. It is what it is. When he took it to him (Rogers) he was OK.”

That’s the most frustrating part of the evening. Zain, for whatever reason, stopped taking it his opponent. He retreated and threw back sparingly.

Had tough, old school trainers such as Malcolm Melvin or Max McCracken been in his corner, I’m sure the hair-dryer treatment would still be echoing around the Holiday Inn.

He dominated the first with jabs and rights to the body.

Yet my notes for the third state: “Zain looks gassed.” By then, he was backing off, hands down. He was throwing very little back.

Professional boxers should not struggle with the pace in the third round.

Griffiths (11st 6lbs) won the last, but lacked the skill to close his opponent down and put a dent in him.

It was a bad day at the office for Zain and that can be forgiven. Everyone is entitled to one bad day, questions begin to be asked after a second, successive bad day.