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| Future world-heavyweight champion? |
On Saturday night In Liverpool at the Echo Arena, around 8500 people saw David Price destructively end the career of former Olympic champion Audley Harrison. Regular readers will know that I predicted this last week, (I said it wouldn't go more than four rounds) but to be honest you don't need to be a genius to see that coming. I think Audley Harrison's PR team would be able to convince turkeys to vote for Christmas. For all the rubbish they have spouted over the years, I think their achievements in the last twelve years or so deserve more recognition than those of their employer.
Price will now move on to a fight with former European heavyweight champion Matt Skelton on December 8th. I would see this as a stepping-stone fight to keep Price active rather than any sort of real test. It may last a bit longer than the Harrison bout on Saturday, but the result will be much the same. The real test will come early next year with the anticipated fight with Tyson Fury. The Manchester based fighter had plenty to say on television last night, including calling Price a plumber as well as saying he would fight Tony Bellew in between rounds. Price's promoter Frank Maloney offered Fury £500,000 to fight Price in the immediate aftermath of the fight last night, and Fury responded in with a rant in somewhat bad taste saying that if they didn't have the money they were in trouble. Fighting Tyson Fury may well be a step up from the likes of Harrison and Skelton, I think Price has the ability to go right to the top and could well be a world champion in 2014.
Comments from Fury's promoter Mick Hennessy make me think that they might avoid fighting Price for a second time. Hennessy said 'Tyson is ranked No 4 with the WBC at the moment, he's had a lot more fights (than Price) so he’s in firing range for a world title,' 'I think Tyson could be a world champion by next summer. The Price fight, when it happens, Tyson will take him out. It would be better if it was for a world title but we've got to see Price get hit on the whiskers and see how he reacts. Tyson put David Price on his backside when he was a 17-year-old novice with a handful of fights. David Price was much older and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist whereas Tyson was, by his own admission, a fat, out of condition fighter. Tyson is a bigger man, he's a better athlete, he's got more ability and when the time comes he'll do a serious job on David Price.'
Fury definitely has the chin to go in to the latter rounds with Price, but I am quite confident that Price's skill and power would see him come through the fight by a late round KO. It would seem that if Hennessy is prepared to make the fight happen, he wants Fury to be a world champion first. This might end up being Price's route to becoming a world champion. If you ask me, below the Klitschko brothers there is not too much class in this division so Fury should be able to capture a version of the title. Despite his mouthy bravado I still think he will duck Price when it comes to it but only time will tell. Next week sees Kell Brook take on Hector Saldivia in an eliminator for a world welterweight title fight, so it could well be more boxing next week!
email me on floydssporttalk@live.co.uk
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