By Rachel Aylett: Damaged British heavyweight David Price has confirmed that he wants to return to the ring and possibly have two quick fights before the end of the year, in order to try to re-establish himself in the minds of boxing fans as still being a factor in the sport.
Of course, David was stopped twice earlier this year by veteran American heavyweight Tony Thompson, sending his burgeoning reputation crashing down to earth.
David hasn’t yet decided the team that he will choose to assist him in his recovery. Whether he stays with promoter Frank Maloney though, or signs with someone else, said promoter will just need to look at the current alphabet ratings and will surely rub their hands with glee. There are around a dozen heavyweights currently ranked in the various top 15-20s who would be feasible and viable opponents for David, without posing too much of a threat to his damaged confidence. I am going to restrict these options to five, purely for the sake of space.
Alexander Ustinov, 28-1 (21). Current rankings – IBF: No.8; WBA: No.11.
Like Price, Ustinov is a giant, standing at 6 feet 7 and a half inches. Unlike David, his girth is rather large also, as he more often than not weighs over 300 pounds. This sheer bulk is responsible for a lot of his winning record, as he has overwhelmed smaller opponents with his size. He does have a reasonable jab but his knockout ratio is deceptive. The better fighters he has taken on, such as Michael Sprott, Monte Barrett, Paolo Vidoz and Dennis Bakhtov have all taken him the distance. His sole defeat came in September 2012, when he took on current contender Kubrat Pulev for the European title. He took a real hammering that night and had his head jabbed off by a much smaller man. Ustinov eventually sank to the canvas to take the full count in round 11. Up to that point I had given Pulev every round. Ustinov’s heart cannot be questioned, he took a real beating from the Bulgarian. With limited mobility though, he would be a sitting duck for Price’s fast straight right hand. However, because of his toughness, he may give Price some badly needed rounds before succumbing.
Ruslan Chagaev, 31-2-1 (20). Current rankings – IBF: No.4; WBA: No.8.
This Uzbek is the former WBA champion, a belt that he won in April 2007 when he became the first man to defeat ‘The Russian Giant’ Valuev. He made two successful defences of that belt, against Matt Skelton and Carl Davis Drumond before having to give up the title due to health issues. He has subsequently had two unsuccessful shots at major belts, being comfortably defeated on both occasions by Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin. It is my contention that Chagaev has been virtually a shot fighter since around the time he fought Skelton in January 2008. He was a hot favourite against the Brit but struggled somewhat. He didn’t look like the same fighter that had been so impressive against Valuev just nine months prior to that. He struggled again in his second defence against what was essentially a “gimme” opponent in Drumond, even losing a couple of rounds on the cards before receiving a technical decision win. Chagaev has failed to impress since and, on occasions, has looked terrible as he has struggled against sub-standard competition. Somehow his backers have kept him high in two of the sets of world rankings. It wouldn’t even surprise me if he were given another title shot before he fades away. His recent opposition has been very poor but even Kertson Manswell, not the sturdiest of opponents, took him the distance. Chagaev is only 5 feet 11 inches and could be easily outboxed by the taller, stronger and faster Price. He still retains his toughness though and could conceivably take David 10 rounds.
Johnathan Banks, 29-2-1 (19). Current rankings – WBC: No.10; IBF: No.13.
Of course, on paper this looks like it could be a risky assignment, taking into consideration the fact that Banks was the one that knocked off that other heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell. That aside though, Banks would be a good opponent for Price. Apart from that one stunning stoppage victory in November 2011, Banks has always flattered to deceive. He is, in fact, a blown up cruiserweight, who didn’t carry that much power in the lower weight class. He did reach contender status but was stopped by the champion at the time Tomasz Adamek. Banks put up a good show that night but couldn’t live with the Pole’s power. For whatever reason, Banks decided to move up to heavyweight following that defeat. To say he has looked less than impressive though is an understatement. He struggled to a draw against Jason Gavern in an awful fight and was comfortably taken the distance by journeyman heavyweights Nicolai Firtha and Saul Montana. Banks’ lack of power/killer instinct has seen him involved in some of the poorest heavyweight fights of recent years. Indeed, in the rematch with Mitchell, after rocking Mitchell in the third round and being seemingly one punch away from repeating the upset win, he failed to follow up. He ended up putting in one of the worst non-performances in recent memory, bringing continuous booing from the fans throughout the later rounds. In any event, Banks is virtually semi-retired now, as he spends a great deal of his time training the champion Wladimir Klitschko. He clearly has little ambition left in his own career. Once again, Banks is experienced enough to take Price a few rounds and give him the experience he badly needs.
Manuel Charr, 24-1 (14). Current rankings – WBC: No.8.
We know Charr best for being the last opponent, to date, of Vitali Klitschko in September 2012. In that challenge for Vitaly’s WBC title, Charr was floored in the second round and eventually stopped in the fourth due to a cut which had appeared over his right eye. The histrionics created by Charr after the stoppage were more entertaining than the fight itself. Charr acted as though he had been robbed of the heavyweight title by suffering an unlucky cut. The reality is that he probably wouldn’t have won a round and would have been stopped in the second half of the fight. Nothing Charr had done before, or has done since, shows that he should be a top-30 contender for the title, let alone top-10. His best opponents to date are probably veterans Sherman Williams and Taras Bidenko, both of whom he defeated on points. Despite three recent inside the distance victories over sub-standard opposition, Charr is no puncher. He laboured for eight rounds against Brazilian Marcelo Nascimento, who had previously been destroyed by Tyson Fury. At 6 feet 3 and a half inches, he would be towered over by David Price. He would carry little threat in the way of power and would be a good name on David’s record.
Alexander Dimitrenko, 34-2 (21). Current rankings – IBF: No.11; WBC: No.20.
I would strongly urge the backers of David Price to get this opponent as soon as possible, before someone else gets to him first. He is still rated in the top 20, as you will see above, by two organisations, but has been floored by journeymen in his last two fights. He is an accident waiting to happen. Dimitrenko has been a decent heavyweight in his time, although when stepping up in class against Eddie Chambers, in July 2009, he was thoroughly taken to school by the American. He was brought back carefully though and won the European title two fights later. He made his single successful defence of that title against Michael Sprott. Throughout this time he remained just inside or on the fringes of the alphabet ratings. His second defence of the European title was in May 2012 against Kubrat Pulev. It was a really good hard fight but, although he was competitive for most of it, Dimitrenko was eventually worn down by the tough Bulgarian. He was still in the fight but fading fast when he went down in the eleventh from an innocuous jab. He sat looking at the referee throughout the count, totally spent. It looks as though that defeat may have broken his heart. Since then, Sacha has had those two eight-round points wins. Dimitrenko would carry little threat to Price, nor would he probably take him many rounds, but as a confidence-booster he would be ideal knockout material.
Of course, none of these match-ups would be completely without risk. However, if Price were to lose to any of these fighters, he really would have no future at the top level. They are a weak bunch indeed, but victories over any of them would enhance Price’s confidence and standing in the rankings.
As I state above, Price’s options do not just lie with the above-mentioned potential opponents. There are many heavyweights out there who could take him rounds, without posing too much of a threat. As long as the money and the inclination is there to rebuild Price, it can be done. After that, of course, it would be down to David himself.
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