David Price v Tony Thompson 1 was one of the biggest shocks of the year. Price suffered a major set-back to a man who many expected to be overwhelmed by a big prospect in the heavyweight division.
Before this fight Price had destroyed all in his way and built up a fearsome reputation as a huge puncher. Price also has a real amateur pedegree including a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Such amateur success shows that Price is technically very good and therefore has the foundations to go far in the pro game.
Price went into the fight with a record of 15 wins including 13 knock-outs. It had become obvious to a wider audience what a huge puncher he is with the devastating knockout of Audley Harrison. Harrison has an Olympic gold medal to his name and was destroyed by Price within 82 seconds of the first bell.
Following the fight against Harrison, Frank Maloney (David’s promoter) had set Price up with a fight against Matt Skelton. Skelton is an experienced, tough, rough and ragged type boxer who looks to be a pest at all times. This fight was designed to test Price and give him experience with an awkward customer who would hold and make life difficult. This test wasn’t to be as Price once more easily dispatched his opponent this time in the 2nd round.
Once Price has finished with Skelton it was agreed that Price was to up the quality of his next opponent on a big scale. He was to compete with a fighter who is still relevant at world level. Tony Thompson was to be Price’s opponent and was to prove more than a test.
Thompson held a record of 36 wins and 3 losses. This is an impressive record which becomes even more impressive once you realise that 2 of these losses are to the dominant force in the division Wladimir Klitschko. His other loss was early on in his career to Eric Kirkland. Many boxers lose early on in their career as they are still learning the trade. These factors truly highlight just how good a boxer Thompson is.
The result of this one was a terrible one for Price as he was knocked out in the second round. Thompson landed a big punch on Price’s ear causing a perforation of the ear-drum. This is the reason that Price was unable to stand on his feet properly as you lose balance with a perforation.
I watched the fight and was in absolute shock and literally couldn’t believe what had happened. I am a huge Price fan and just didn’t know what to say when the ref rightly waved off the fight. I had every confidence that Price would beat Thompson comprehensively and carry on his route to the top.
Once I had got over the shock I studied the knockdown and concluded that it was a freak punch. At the end of the day this is heavyweight boxing and when you get hit by a big man you are going to go down.This was a huge disappointment and lead many to claim that Price is not all that he has been hyped up to be and that he had been exposed.
As a result of this fight a rematch has been agreed for the 6th July at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. As is normal for Price he will be fighting in front of his home crowd in Liverpool and is determined to avenge his loss and prove that he is the real deal.
Following the loss former undisputed heavyweight champion and fellow Brit Lennox Lewis offered his help to Price in his come-back. Lewis has all the experience and knowledge to guide Price back on the right track.
Lewis himself suffered shock knock out defeats to Oliver McCall and Hashim Rahman. Lennox went on to avenge both defeats and became a legend of the sport. He is the perfect man to guide Price to the pinnacle of the sport.
Price has been learning new fitness regimes and from what I have seen, looks in very good shape. Lewis has worked physically and mentally with Price and regards him as the best heavyweight prospect out there at the moment. Lewis believes that Price can avenge his defeat to Thompson and become a world champion in the future.
In my opinion the loss to Thompson in the first fight was just one of those things and merely a blip. I fully expect Price to beat Thompson in the next fight. I predict that Price will be a bit more cagey initially in this fight before he gets going and forces Thompson out of there. I just get the feeling that Price will take a few more rounds to settle before looking to land his spectacular right hand. He will look to use his jab and great technical ability to work his way in and then land big combinations to get Thompson out of there.
I see Price being extremely determined to put things right and with Lennox on hand expect to see Price knock out Thompson after a few rounds. I see the fight last about 5 rounds. I am still fully behind Price and actually believe that this loss will be of benefit to him in the long run. Price will not be complacent stepping into a ring again and will remember that this is the heavyweight division and that you can be knocked down at any moment.
David Price has all the potential to become a world champion and he is a humble, modest guy which is nice but he needs to come out of his shell a bit more to grab the attention of the casual boxing fan.
In my opinion Price can become a dominant heavyweight champion that goes on to control the division for a fair few years under the tutelage of Lennox Lewis. Price will win this rematch and show all the doubters that he is here for the long haul. David Price v Tony Thompson is the crossroads of both mens careers!
