By Scott Gilfoid: British/Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price (15-0, 13 KO’s) wants to win the Lonsdale strap to keep to bring home to his family. He the British heavyweight title last year in an easy win over domestic fighter Sam Sexton, and he’s defended the title twice against 41-year-old Audley Harrison and 45-year-old Matt Skelton.
Price, 29, now needs one more successful title defense and then he’ll get his precious Lonsdale strap. However, Price is running fodder to beat and facing all the weak guys on the domestic scene is stagnating his career. He’s not young like 27-year-old Deontay Wilder, so he can’t afford to hang around fighting little known 3rd tier domestic level fighters just so he can get the Lonsdale title.
Price said “It would be a great honor [to win the Lonsdale strap]…it would have to be against a fighter who I believe is world level like Dereck Chisora or Tyson Fury. My field David Haye is about but he seems focused on getting a fight against Vitali Klitschko.”
Okay, forget about Fury and Haye. That leaves only Chisora, who already he wants to fight Price. I don’t know why this seems so difficult for Price to figure out. If he wants to keep the Lonsdale strap, Chisora is right there for him. All Price has to do is tell his promoter Frank Maloney to give Chisora a phone call and it’s a done deal. Chisora already said he wants to fight Price next on March 16th if the British Boxing Board of Control gives Chisora his boxing license back.
As for the logic in Price looking to win the Lonsdale strap, I think it’s a complete and utter waste of time. It reminds me of how Tyson Fury went to Ireland to fight for the Irish heavyweight title against 41-year-old Martin Rogan because Fury said he always wanted the Irish strap. I can understand wanting to get a belt, but what meaning is there for you if you’re not fighting someone worthwhile for it to have a meaning. It’s like entering a track meet for a 100 meter sprint and the guys you’ll be racing are some of the slowest runners around instead of the fastest. So you end up beating them and then they give you a trophy afterwards with some odd name. then you parade the trophy around as if it’s a big deal.
What value is there in wining some strap or trophy if you’re competing against weak opposition? I know for me, if I got the Lonsdale strap after beating Sexton, Skelton, Harrison and some other weak domestic level opponent, I’d hand it back to them and tell them “No thanks, I don’t want it.” Of course, I wouldn’t waste my time fighting for the British and Commonwealth titles in the first place and if my promoter suggested I do that, I’d tell him to get lost.
Price needs to be fighting world class opposition instead of thinking small about wanting domestic level. He needs to be a make an adult decision about whether he wants to focus on winning tiny regional titles or world class straps? He’s already talking about wanting to waste time going after the European Boxing Union strap despite the fact that he’s to turn 30. These are titles that younger fighters win and/or guys that don’t have the talent to win on the world level. If Price is satisfied with that then so be it.
Price has scheduled next month against one of Wladimir Klitschko’s leftovers 41-year-old Tony Thompson on February 23rd at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. This is another waste of time fight for Price.
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