(Photo credit: Team Sauerland) By Scott Gilfoid: David Price (19-2, 16 KOs) says he’s not worried at all about the punching power of his opponent Erkan Teper (14-0, 9 KOs) in their fight tonight for the vacant European Boxing Union heavyweight title at the Ludwigsburg MHP Arena, Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg.
Price has shown to have to have a chin problem in his past fights in getting stopped twice by Tony Thompson, the only fighter he’s faced thus far that has even a hint of punching power. In tonight’s fight, Price will be facing a better puncher than Thompson in 33-year-old Teper.
As such, the normal thing to wonder about is whether the 6’8” Price will be able to hold up under fire from Teper for the full 12 rounds, because goodness knows the German fighter is going to be looking to take Price’s head off from the word go.
“I’m not particularly worried about his power because it’s the same with any other heavyweight if you get hit on the chin you’re likely going to end up feeling it,” Price said. “So it’s not like I’m going to go in there worrying about his power – if anything he should be worrying about mine because he’s there to be hit.”
Price sure does sound confident, doesn’t he? I just hope Price doesn’t live to regret it if/when he’s on his back after getting starched by Teper at some point in the fight tonight. Price clearly needs to worry about Teper’s power and worry a lot because this guy really can punch.
Teper is definitely going to be head-hunting from the word go in this fight, trying to KO Price with every punch he throws. Teper obviously knows from watching Price’s past fights that he’s chinny. We saw that in his fight against Thompson and we saw that when Price was stopped in the amateur ranks by Roberto Cammarelle.
There’s no shame in having no chin. There are plenty of other fighters out there who are still successful despite them not being able to take a decent hit without wobbling all over the ring. The thing for Price is to come up with a strategy not to get hit by Teper because if he does the fight is going to be over with very quickly.
Price can either go after Teper immediately to get him before he gets his offense in gear, or Price can stay on the outside and try and not get hit. Since Price only has a pawing jab and is poor at fighting at a distance, I think the best thing he can do is to go after Teper immediately to try and get him out of there before he lands one of his big shots.
Price fights at a medium distance for some reason, which means he’s going to be always there for Teper to hit. I don’t think why Price can’t seem to fight from the outside, but it looks to me like he doesn’t have the flexibility to stretch his arms all the way out to throw shots from a long ways away. He’s incapable of standing at a distance to throw a jab. He’s also very rigid and robotic. For those reasons, Price stands at medium distance from his opponents and is very each to hit.
“I’m the better fighter defensively but I do expect him to come out and start fast and try and put it on me early but he’s more than welcome because I’m prepared,” Price said.
Price isn’t the better fighter defensively than Teper. They’re both easy to hit. Price is correct about Teper likely to come out fast to try and end things. There’s no doubt he’ll be coming after Price right away, but that’s how Teper always fights. He’s more of a simple slugger than a boxer/puncher, which is why he’s fighting at the European level rather than at the world level. If he had some finesse to his game, he might be top fighter, but he’s too simple with his game. But it doesn’t matter though for this fight, because a primitive Teper will likely be too much for Price to handle.
I suspect that Price will come up empty tonight in his bid to win the vacant European heavyweight title. Along with Price’s defeat, he can say goodbye to a potential big money fight against Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury in 2016. Those are two fights that Price wants, but will likely never get. It all ends with him losing to Teper tonight.
Comments are closed.