David Price - What next?

By John Hoolan @JohnHoolan

David Price - Some decisions to make...

Having seen his attempt at trying to avenge a defeat to Tony Thompson turn to dust it must seem like a very lonely world to David Price at the moment. Even 3 weeks after he was stopped in the 5th, the future will very likely seem uncertain and he'll view it with a lot of trepidation.

Hughie Vs David intriguing, but too early!

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97. 

Thompson does it again. Price's world falls apart. 

Around 5 months ago the biggest fight in British heavyweight boxing, or maybe even British boxing as a whole, was David Price Vs Tyson Fury. The two giants seemed on a highly-anticipated collision course with both of them looking to achieve the same things in the sport, the main thing being a world title shot. However, on February 23rd everything changed when Price was knocked out in just two rounds by American veteran and big underdog Tony Thompson in his hometown of Liverpool, leaving the 2008 Olympian miles behind Fury at that current point as Fury looked to move onto bigger and better things.

James McKnight's Monthly Review - February

JamesMcKnight reviews the biggest boxing events to take place in February 2013.

You can follow James McKnight on Twitter: @JamesMcknight83.

"A-FORCE" SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT!  

On the night of February 23, at York Hall in Bethnal Green, the 29th edition of prizefighter served up a treat, with Audley Harrison topping the night off by creating prizefighter history! 

In the lead up to the International Heavyweights III prizefighter tournament, Harrison was in an extremely confident and positive frame of mind. The 41-year-old has the gift of the gab of course, and, as always, was in full flow! He had every right to be confident of his chances to win the trophy though, because he won prizefighter back in 2009 and he looked in fantastic shape as he weighed in at under 17 stones. But, coming in to the tournament, Harrison had been on the receiving end of a vicious knockout to David Price. which ended in just 1 round only 4 months earlier. Many interpreted Harrison's confidence as fear, but many interpreted it as assurance, that he would put the defeat to Price to the back of his mind and would win the trophy for a second time. Of course, there was only one way to find out, and that was to see Harrison back in the ring backing his words up!  

The Tiger Can Now Name His Price

By Bobby Hunter @thefightscore.

http://fightscorecollector.blogspot.co.uk/

How much can Tony "The Tiger " Thompson make from his next fight?. Well Thompson can name his "Price" now after shocking the boxing world with a stunning Knockout of David Price at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. The second round one punch KO totally silenced what was once a loud crowd. Thousands of fans came to watch Price rise up the heavyweight rankings by beating his first ranked contender and for one and a half rounds it was all going to plan as Price carefully peppered Thompson with jabs and a fast straight right hand.

The first round started with both fighters having a look at each other before Price backed Thompson to the ropes landing a big right hand. Price continued to press the action and near the end of the round Thompson found himself backed in the opposite corner shipping more right hands followed by brutal body shots. Early in the second another one of these huge right hand seemed to have hurt Thompson as he lay on the ropes. Paul Smith working for Boxnation made a great point just before Thompson shocked the world. He said that Price to be careful and not walk into a shot as Thompson was looking to catch him coming in.

Heavyweight Prizefighter Report - Audley Is Back Again!

A big, big night for British heavyweight boxing! One of our brightest prospects David Price is KO'd in the second round by the "massive underdog" Tony Thompson, and the assumably "washed-up" Audley Harrison dominates and wins the International Heavyweight Prizefighter tournament. Check out my reaction in the video above. 

Richard Towers - The Forgotten Man Of British Boxing?

By John Hoolan @JohnHoolan.

http://murmuringsofaboxingmad-man.blogspot.co.uk/

Richard "The Inferno" Towers is the forgotten man of British boxing, who had some rare headlines this week, thanks to uncertainty surrounding the Price Vs Thompson fight. Towers claims he was offered the fight at a few days notice for peanuts and quite rightly turned it down. A fight against Price would need a couple of months preparation, to have taken it at a few days would have been just asking for a defeat to be added to your record. It turns out that Maloney was covering his bases in case Thompson's medical records didn't arrive in time.   

Richard Towers is the 33 year old current undefeated EU Heavyweight Champion based in Yorkshire with a record of 14 fights, 14 wins with 11 KOs. His last fight, in June 2012, was against the Former French champion Gregory Tony, who Towers stopped in the 9th round. Tony had previously been in with both Perez and Helenius and was a big step up for Towers, who although rocked slightly in the 5th did well to recover and win.

Manuel Charr - Could he be the real deal?

By John Hoolan @JohnHoolan.

http://murmuringsofaboxingmad-man.blogspot.co.uk/

Can he back up his comments and claims?

Manuel Charr ranked 8th in the world by the WBC has a record of 22 fights, winning 21 of which 12 were by KO. His only loss was to Vitali Klitschko when he was stopped in the 4th round from a cut after being put on the canvas in 2nd round. That was 2 fights ago. He won his comeback fight Vs Konstantin Airich by a first round KO. A great way to bounce back from a loss by stoppage.

In recent weeks Charr has taken to twitter to "call out" some names including Fury and Haye for elimination fights so he can get another shot at Vitali. The loss to Vitali is something that clearly eats away at Charr and one which he truly belives he can avenge. 

There was mention of a possible fight with Chisora, but Charr has declined that offer saying he would only consider Haye. There was also a spat on twitter against "contender" (I use that description in it's loosest sense) Deontay Wilder, with Charr quite rightly dismissing Wilder's claims for a shot. 

Price looks to have two more fights before world title shot.

By Jack Price @PriceJ97.

British heavyweight giant David Price believes that himself along with the other up-and-coming heavyweights will bring excitement back to the heavyweight division in coming years. The fast-rising 3-year old believes he is only a couple of fights away from being able to mix it with the world heavyweight champions.

"I don't agree that this is the worst time in history for the division," Price told Nick Parkinson of The Daily Star. "The fact that no one can compete with the Klitschko's has put a lot of people off. But that's a credit to them. They have an effective game plan."

"Once Vitali has retired, and that might be very soon, the division will open up. It will be an exciting time and a generation of young fighters like myself are coming through."

The fans have voted!

Who are the Top 10 fighters in Britain today?

@BoxingOpinions1

The fans have voted, we received over 200 votes when we asked the question "Who do you believe are the top British fighters around today?" It was a close poll with most of the same names mentioned over and over again, but there were actually 24 different British fighters mentioned at one point, showing just how competitive the British boxing scene is right now. The votes have been added up and you can now see who the fans rank as the top British fighters around at this current time:

1. Carl Froch (30-2) - 89 pts
2. Ricky Burns (35-2) - 59 pts
3. Kell Brook (29-0) - 51 pts
4. Amir Khan (27-3) - 45 pts
5. David Haye (26-2) - 41 pts
6. Nathan Cleverly (25-0) - 36 pts
7. David Price (15-0) - 32 pts
8. Tony Bellew (19-1) - 29 pts
9. Tyson Fury (20-0) - 23 pts
10. Scott Quigg (25-0) - 20 pts

Audley Harrison talks sparring with Wilder, Hanks & Scott... Believes he can walk through Price!

David Price (left) & Audley Harrison (right).

British heavyweight Audley Harrison claims he has cut no corners in his training camp for his career-determining fight on October 13th against Britain's most dangerous prospect David Price. A-Force claims he has had the best sparring possible and believes he can just "walk through Price."

"I've been real competitive in this camp and I found people who I believe can match David Price, can potentially beat David Price. Deontay Wilder, he's 26-0 with 26 knockouts and he won a bronze medal at heavyweight in Beijing, same as David. There is Joe Hanks who is 26-0 with 19 knockouts, he's explosive and he's fast like Shannon Briggs... Malik Scott, another guy who is 33-0," said Audley.

"That's the best sparring I can get for someone like David Price. They are all the same height as him... 6"7, 6"8. Deontay Wilder punches like a mule and he's fast. And I had four weeks of him. And some days he was catching me with clean shots. Some people think that when David catches me with a right hand it will be over, but that certainly won't be the case. Even against David Haye, when I was at my worst, David hit me without about 20 punches before I went down and I still got up."

 

By Jack Price @PriceyJ97.

Fury could face either Chagaez, Liakhovich or Mormeck...



British heavyweight giant Tyson Fury has a bout set for November and he would like it to be against a former world champion. And at the moment, that looks like exactly what's going to happen.

The three fighters that are being considered at this current time are Siarhel Liakhovich, Ruslan Chagaez and Jean Marc-Mormeck. Now, I know all of these are nowhere near the level of fighters we want to see Fury face, e.g. Price, Haye, Maybe even Klitschko?, but it is a slight step up from the opponents he has been facing so far.

Jean Marc Mormeck.

Out of the three, if I had to chose one for Fury to face, it would have to be Mormeck. He might not be the best out of the three proposed opponents and he certainly isn't the biggest, however he is definitely the most well-known man out of the three. So this means that with the amount of fans Fury brings in and the small draw that Mormeck brings then it shouldn't be hard to sell tickets or promote this fight.

We will have more on Fury's opponent in the near future, as you never know these days... It could end up being another journeyman again.

The event will take place in either one of two venues. Before yesterday, it was looking certain to be in Las Vegas but in the last 24 hours Dublin has been added as a potential alternative.

Cammarelle disgusted by loss to Joshua, Plans to turn pro...

Joshua awarded the victory over Cammarelle in a very close fight.

Former super-heavyweight Olympic champion Roberto Cammarelle claims that he was disgusted with amateur boxing after not being given the decision against Britain's Anthony Joshua in the final at the London Olympics on Sunday.

Cammarelle was looking to make history by defending the super-heavyweight title he won in Beijing back in 2008. The Italian won two out of the three rounds but Joshua put on a fantastic performance in the last round to bring the fight to a draw. Joshua, 22 was awarded the fight on countback and Cammarelle was left with a silver medal, which is still a great achievement but not what he was looking for.

The 32-year old's coach Francesco Damiani protested the result to the AIBA but was unsuccessful. Cammarelle also spoke out about the Olympic judging:

"It's not Joshua's fault, but the Olympics were held in London and here evidently somebody likes to win in this manner," said the Italian. "This type of boxing no longer represents me and I don't like it."

He also added that he will not be attempting to regain his Olympic title at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, he will now go into the pro ranks and start punching for pay.

Personally, I don't think the decision was actually that bad. The Italian was rightfully ahead by three points at the end of the second round, but Joshua did more than enough to level the score. Some of the decisions at London 2012 have been terrible, but this one wasn't.

I'm sure that a lot of people are really looking forward to see Cammarelle turn pro as he does have a good solid style that would be affective in the professional game and there's also a lot of good fights out there for him. The main one being a rematch with David Price. Cammarelle defeated Price in the semi-final of the 2008 Olympics meaning Price was left with bronze and the Italian went on to win gold. This fight would probably be way down the line in both of these men's career, probably after Cammarelle has eased into the pro ranks and Price has already fought some of the big guys (Either Klitschko, Haye, Fury, Povetkin). However, there are a lot of good match-ups in the near future; Rematch with Joshua, Dereck Chisora, Alexander Povetkin, Seth Mitchell, just to name a few.

Audley Harrison could be next for Price...

British heavyweight contender Audley Harrison.

Former heavyweight world title challenger Audley Harrison returned to the ring and re-boosted his career on Saturday (May 26th) by knocking out domestic rival Ali Adams in just four rounds at the Brentwood Centre in Essex. It wasn't the best performance from Audley but it showed us that he is serious about giving it one more shot.

He is now looking to step up his level of opponents and he has requested a fight with British heavyweight champion David Price. This would be a good fight for everyone involved. It would make a lot of money and it would be the step up in class that both fighters desperately want. 

British champ David Price.

At first it just looked as if it was just a call-out from Audley in search for a big pay-day but Price's promoter Frank Maloney revealed that this is a fight that could happen in the near future.

"It's a fight we're interested in," said Maloney. "We're looking to get in contact with him... There are a lot of option that we are looking at and Audley Harrison is one of them."

Harrison has been pestering BBBofC officials to make him the mandatory challenger for Price's title. He won the International Masters title against Ali Adams on Saturday but he wants a title that is a lot more important. Price is set to defend the British title in September. The main two opponents that are being talked about right now, are Harrison himself and former British champion Matt Skelton.

Audley is not the ideal opponent that the fans want to see David Price face but is a definite step up in class from the recent fighters that 'Pricey' has beaten with ease e.g. Sam Sexton and John McDermott. As long as Audley puts up a better performance than he did against David Haye it could be a relatively good fight.

Audley Harrison wins comeback fight!

Harrison celebrates after stoppage victory.

Controversial British heavyweight Audley Harrison made his return to the ring on Saturday night, in his first fight since his poor performance against David Haye back in 2010. He returned in style and knocked out Ali Adams in the 4th round at the Brentwood Centre in Essex.

The 40-year old started slow and it looked as though he was going to be the usual Audley Harrison and lose to a boxer that is not even in the 'A class' of domestic fighters. But then in the 3rd round Harrison stepped up his work and started to hurt his opponent and then in the 4th he knocked down Adams with a right hand. Adams managed to rise to his feet but the referee stopped the fight after a flurry of punches from 'A-Force'.

The fourth round stoppage was a bit ironic and a bit embarrassing for Adams as during the build-up to the fight he repeatedly boasted that Audley would be "on the floor in round 4." Harrison picked up on this and tweeted saying: "Im back... Poetic justice to end it in four after he said I would be on the floor. No hard feelings though and I wish him all the best."

It is not entirely clear what is next for Audley. He is definitely not at world level but I think he could be a top contender at domestic and maybe European level. There have already been rumours with a fight with top prospect and British heavyweight champion David Price or ring veteran Matt Skelton.

Klitschko-Price could happen according to Wladimir...

World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has revealed that a fight between himself and British prospect David Price could happen soon. He revealed that he is a great admirer of the 6"8 Olympic bronze medallist and believes that he reminds him of himself.

The 36-year old Ukrainian who holds four versions of the heavyweight world title said: "Maybe David Price and I are going to end up fighting. I will not exclude David from my list of possible opponents. We will now see how he develops himself."

British prospect David Price.

"I think David Price is doing an incredible job. I see myself in him in a certain way... He is a couple of inches taller than I am but his technique is pretty much the same as mine, so there are certain similarities between us and my trainer Emmanuel Steward always points them out. When we have watched his fights, Emmanuel says, 'Oh look, he moves like you and even his trunks and his boxing shoes look like yours."

"Manny always thinks he is copying me and likes the way I fight. I agree with Manny because I used to have my idols. Maybe he looks up to me."

Klitschko is currently preparing for a rematch with American heavyweight Tony Thompson.

"I understand that I will not be boxing forever and that is why I am enjoying every moment of it... I think about retirement. I know it will be over some day. Health and motivation are two big factors. If one of those disappears, I am out."

"Always in the history of this sport, the generations change. I am ready and I am there and if a challenge comes, I will take it."

Price is regarded by most as the best heavyweight in Britain and the best heavyweight prospect since Lennox Lewis. He has only had 13 fights but he has knocked out 11 of them with ease, using his trademark straight right hand. His promoter Frank Maloney, who also guided Lennox Lewis to a world title, is certain that Price is a future world champion.

"People may have dismissed David's comment when he said he could become world champion by his 20th fight," said Maloney. "That doesn't look like a bad prediction now. He could probably earn his chance quickly, but is about becoming world champion and having a long reign."

For the time being, Klitschko is preparing for his mandatory defence against Thompson but the chances of a fight between himself and Price seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Maybe soon we could see a world heavyweight champion that is not a Klitschko brother.

David Price... Britain's Biggest Hope?

Promoter Frank Maloney knows he is on something special.

On Saturday night (May 19th) Liverpudlian heavyweight David Price retained his undefeated record and became the new British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion after pulling off a fantastic knock out victory against Sam Sexton.

Price, now 13-0, dominated the first two rounds but didn't really land any hard and powerful shots, but in the dying seconds of the third he through a right hand that clipped the top of Sexton's head and knocked him down. Sexton rose to his feet, the bell rang and he looked as though he had recovered. But, in the fourth round, Price proved yet again that there is nobody who can handle his power. He backed Sexton into the ropes and unleashed his monstrous straight power punches which caused his much shorter and lighter opponent to go down again. And then, at the end of the fourth, we saw one of the most devastating knockouts in recent years. Price threw his trademark right hand and caught Sexton clean on the chin. Sexton toppled backwards and crashed down towards the canvas. It was clear that there was no way in hell that he would be able to continue and the referee stopped the fight before the count had even started.

So, after another dominant and perfect performance... Where does David Price go from here. Many people believe that he is the heir to the Klitschko throne but I think it would be foolish if he rushed his career and decide to step into the ring with a Klitschko in the next year or so. First, he needs to beat one of the best in Britain and then one of the best in Europe. Domestic rival Tyson Fury is almost completely out of the picture so the winner of David Haye Vs Dereck Chisora would be a fantastic test for David Price. If he was to beat either of these, he could go on to face the likes of Robert Helenius or Alexander Povetkin, who are both great names to have on your record.

No matter, who he fights next, there is one thing we do know... Heavyweight giant David Price is a very special fighter that has a bright future ahead of him. And, just to add to the hype... If I was to chose one man that I think is going to end the Klitschko's reign it would 'Pricey'.

Price's Sky Deal Depends On Next Fight...

British heavyweight David Price has more than just the British title on the line when he meets Sam Sexton at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool on Saturday night. He also has his TV deal with SkySports at stake.

If the Liverpudlian prospect fails to provide an entertaining fight or put on an impressive performance he will likely not continue to have his fights televised on the channel. Price has three fights remaining on his present deal  with Sky and his promoter Frank Maloney is currently negotiating an extension, but he realises that his boxer has to put on a show if Sky are even to consider extending the deal.

"I am still in negotiation with them but I don't kid myself. They will probably want to see how this show goes Saturday. If David Price gets hit on the chin, I probably won't get a phone call," Maloney told the Independent.

Price is a heavy favourite going into the fight but a win is not enough. He is going to have to look good whilst doing it. His 75-second knockout of John McDermott in January was very impressive but it was not very entertaining for the fans in the crowd and watching at home.

Sam Sexton will provide a bit more of a challenge than McDermott and if he manages to turn it into his type of fight we could see a very interesting bout between two top domestic heavyweights on Saturday night.

David Price talks Fury, Haye & Chisora...

The British heavyweight scene has recently started to heat up, with David Haye fighting Dereck Chisora on July 14th and Tyson Fury attempting to move onto the world level. But, one man who is also attempting to prove he is the No.1 heavyweight in Britain is undefeated Liverpudlian David Price.

The 2008 Olympic bronze medallist will meet Norwich's Sam Sexton on May 19th for the vacant British heavyweight title. Just recently Price's rival Tyson Fury had this belt round his waist but he vacated the title which led may people to believe that he is ducking Price.

Price, 28, still has hopes of one day meeting his domestic rival although it doesn't look like it's going to happen for quite a long time.

"I think Tyson has seen me fight and knows it's too dangerous for him to fight me. Hopefully we can make it further down the line," said the 6ft 9 heavyweight giant. "There's more chance of me fighting Tyson than there is me against Chisora and Haye because they have been in world title fights recently. I've got a while to go before I get to that level... But I believe I'm as good as any of them and could get in the ring with them and compete, but me and Tyson are at similar stages of our career at the moment and it makes more sense."

Price sparred with 'Delboy' Chisora before the Londoner's world title fight with Vitali Klitschko back in February and he also used to spar with with former WBA world champion David Haye. He believes that if Chisora loses in their highly anticipated clash at Upton Park on July 14th then he will move back down to European or British level.

"The likelihood of meeting David Haye is very thin but if Chisora loses he will go back down to European or British level."

He also gave his opinion on how he thinks the Chisora-Haye fight will turn out: "Haye will be on the same level as Chisora and could catch him on the chin. Haye has got the skills and power and I think his speed and reflexes - with Chisora not being the fastest - will be crucial."

Tony Bellew Proves He Is World Class...

.

British light-heavyweight Tony Bellew retained his title on Saturday night against fellow Brit Danny McIntosh. 

Bellew (18-1-0) dominated from the first round. He just had too much for McIntosh who was made to look very un-experienced and lazy. The fight was meant to be a close one but Bellew just proved to be too good and showed everyone that he has what it takes to compete at world level.

The 29-year old dominated every round and then pulled off a fantastic knock-out in the 5th round. McIntosh tried to put the pressure on at times but Bellew was too skilful and ended up countering McIntosh with more shots than he had thrown.

The knock-out came just after a clash of heads that caused a cut under Bellew's eye. Bellew looked a little annoyed with the incident and responded with a fantastic shot that sent his older opponent crashing down to the canvas.

McIntosh fought Bellew's nemesis Nathan Cleverly a few years ago and personally I think that Bellew performed better against him than Cleverly did. 

Bellew called out Welshman Cleverly once again during the post-fight interview saying "I was promised a rematch with Cleverly, it was broken. I'll fight him tomorrow in Wales or even in his back garden!"

This fight definitely proved that Bellew is much better than domestic level and he desperately wants a rematch with Cleverly as their no one else in Britain that can really challenge the 'Bomber'. The first bout between the two was very close and although the decision was given to Cleverly, it could have easily have gone either way.

Carl Froch (Bellew's sparring partner) and David Price (one of Bellew's best friends) both backed up the idea that Bellew is now world class in an interview with the two fighters. 

What will see next from Tony 'Bomber' Bellew?.. Most people will be hoping for a rematch with Cleverly but I very much doubt that Cleverly would accept that fight. One thing we know for sure is that we can expect big things from Tony Bellew in the future.

David Price Vs Sam Sexton Press Conference (Video)

Here is video footage captured by iFilm London of the press conference for David Price Vs Sam Sexton.

The fight is scheduled for May 19th and it is for the British heavyweight title. The title was vacated by Tyson Fury earlier this year which is the reason many people believe that Fury is ducking Price. 

Price's promoter Frank Maloney was angry that his fighter did not get a chance to box Fury. ''Chicken Fury was going to get the biggest pay of his career to date, and has let himself, his fans, his travelling community and most of all the boxing world down.''

Although Sexton is definitely on a lower level than Tyson Fury, he is still considered as a worthy challenger. His record consists of 15 wins from 17 fights with both of his losses against Dereck Chisora who is now considered as a world class fighter. Sexton also beat Fury's next opponent Martin Rogan so if Rogan manages to beat Fury there will be a big question mark as to whether Fury is going to be as big and successful as some people are making out.