By Scott Gilfoid: British heavyweights Tyson Fury (20-0, 14 KO’s) and David Price (15-0, 13 KO’s) both came out ahead against weak opponents this past weekend in fights that painfully one-sided. Fury and Price’s opponents weren’t offensively oriented, so that neither of the two Brits had to worry about getting hit back. It was as if they had the win even before they entered the ring by choosing opposition that wouldn’t press the attack and test their chins.
My thoughts are this about Price:
He came across as stiff, easy to hit, and not skilled on the inside in his win over Matt Skelton in Liverpool. Although Price still knocked Skelton out in the 2nd round with a left to the body, it wasn’t an impressive performance because Price fought like a robot, and lacked the speed and talent that you see other top heavyweights like the Klitschkos and with some of the heavyweight prospects in the sport.
My thoughts on Fury:
Tyson Fury lacked power, speed and ring IQ with his win over Kevin Johnson. Fury didn’t have to worry about Johnson trying to hit him because he was just standing there covering up most of the fight. Fury threw punch after punch against the guard and the head of Johnson, but none of the shots had any affect on his opponent. Fury looked like he was shooting blanks, and the crowd hated it. They started booing early and didn’t stop until the fight ended. Who could blame them? Fury really looked awful in there.
Of the two fighters, I’d say that Price looked like the better fighter. He can’t do a lot of the same things Fury can do in terms of movement, punch angles and throwing tons of shots, but he doesn’t need to. Price’s power allows him to hit home runs and not let his opponents hang around. I think Price would have knocked Johnson out early had that been him in the ring with him instead of Fury. Price still has major flaws that will keep him from beating the best heavyweights in the sport, but I definitely see him as being better than Fury.
I see Fury and Price as good gatekeeper type heavyweights. I think they’re good for that purpose but I can’t see them being able to compete against the best in the division.
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