By Sean McDaniel: Unbeaten heavyweight David Price (12-0, 10 KO’s) did his part in stopping John McDermott (26-8, 17 KOs) in the 1st round on Saturday night to become the mandatory challenger for British heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (17-0, 12 KO’s) for him to defend against in 2012.
Price wasted little time in a feeling round in the 1st round against McDermott, almost immediately knocking him to the canvas with a right hand. Price followed that up with two more knockdowns before the fight was halted at 73 seconds of the 1st round. The spectators at ringside at the Olympia in Liverpool looked stunned at the quick demolition.
Many fans saw the Price-McDermott fight going at least four or five rounds but Price took him out immediately and made it look ever so easy. In comparison to Fury, who had a hard time beating McDermott in consecutive fights in 2009 and 2010, Price had no trouble at all in taking care of the 31-year-old McDermott.
After the fight, Price told Sky Sports News “Tyson Fury is a fighting man. People say he’s going to avoid me. I know Tyson Fury will fight me because he’s a fighting man and otherwise he will look like a bit of a coward. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. He’s not ready to move up to world level but can he fight me? We’ll wait and see but I think he will.”
It may be that Fury made the mistake of winning the British title and holding on to it. Had he not been weighed down by the responsibilities that go with it, he could avoid Price forever and no one would really fault him. But with Price now his mandatory challenger, Fury has to either fight Price and risk getting knocked out like McDermott, or vacate the belt to avoid the fight.
If he vacates people are going to call him a coward and will likely be disgusted by him. But if he faces Price, he could get knocked out and badly beaten. Fury literally is trapped between a rock and a hard place. He has no easy choices now.
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