By Scott Gilfoid: David Haye believes that unbeaten British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price (15-0, 13 KO’s) has the same type of physical tools as the Klitschko brothers and he thinks he can go far in the heavyweight division if guided correctly.
Haye said to Sky Sports News “I sparred with David Price since he was an amateur. He’s got all the tools that a Klitschko has. He ticks all the boxes. With the right guidance within the next two years he should be knocking on the door. I’ll be long retired by then with my pipe and slippers.”
In other words, don’t bother trying to pressure Haye into fighting Price because he won’t do it. Why couldn’t Haye at least pretend he was interested in fighting Price because it’s so off putting to see him talk as if he’s not interested in the match-up because he’s probably have a great chance of knocking Price out cold with one punch if he motivated properly.
Here’s my take on Price and his chances of making it big in the heavyweight division. I don’t see Price as another Klitschko, not even close. He’s too rigid, too robotic, and not as athletic as the Klitschkos. He’s already been exposed in the chin department in the amateurs when he faced Bermane Stiverne and Roberto Cammarelle. Those two fighters created the blueprint in how to beat the 6’8” Price by not backing off and instead going straight at him like a truck and unloading on him until he’s staggering. If you watch how Price performed against Stivene and Cammarelle on Youtube, it’s pretty clear that he couldn’t handle the power and he fell apart. He turned his back on Stiverne after getting nailed by a big right hand, and Cammarelle left Price hanging in the ropes like a spider after hurting him in the Olympics. Those weren’t fluke wins by those guys.
Those guys got in close and stayed on top of Price from round one and Price folded. The difference now is that Price hasn’t faced any punchers since he turned pro and he’s done well. He doesn’t fight tall like the Klitschkos, as he’s really easy to hit. Price doesn’t have Vitali’s strong chin or Wladimir’s great defense. Wladimir’s chin is probably no better than Price’s, but he’s so much better defensively and he’s arguably a much better athlete with faster hands, a much better jab and a far superior left hook than Price.
If Price is a copy of the Klitschkos, he’s a bad copy because he’s not in their league and he’s not likely going to do well once he starts facing the big punchers in the division. I see no change in Price’s defensive skills or his game since he turned pro in 2008. As such, I see Price getting knocked out as soon as he faces Stiverne, the Klitschkos, Kubrat Pulev, Chris Arreola, and probably even Tyson Fury.
Price has a fight against 41-year-old Tony Thompson next month on February 23rd in the UK. This will be Price’s third straight fight against a 40-year-old fighter. Thompson is coming off of a knockout loss to Wladimir Klitschko in his last fight.
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