By Scott Gilfoid: Heavyweight contender David Price (21-3, 18 KOs) picked up his second consecutive victory on Saturday night in stopping 42-year-old journeyman Ivica Perkovic (22-31, 17 KOs) in the 2nd round in Germany.
Price, 33, hurt Perkovic with a right-left combination to the midsection that caused him to wave his arm to the referee to have the fight halted. The referee Joerg Milke then stepped in and halted the fight at 2:10 of the 2nd round. It’s not surprising news that Price was able to beat Perkovic so easily, as this fight was never supposed to be competitive. It was just another confidence booster for Price, who needs all the confidence he can get after he was destroyed in two rounds by Erkan Teper in 2015.
Price knocked Perkovic down with a right uppercut followed by a left hook to the head in the 1st round. Perkovic looked badly hurt from the knockdown. Price probably could have knocked Perkovic out in the 1st round if he wanted to, but he wanted to take his time before putting him out of his misery.
“I’ve got to be in the mix with the top 10 heavyweights in the world,” said Price after the fight. “If the offer to fight Anthony Joshua was given, I’d have to take it. It’s a life changing opportunity.”
I don’t know that Price is going to get a shot at Joshua anytime soon. Price will likely need to prove himself against the likes of Joseph Parke, Dillian Whyte or someone like Dereck Chisora before he gets a crack at Joshua.
Price’s fighting style looks a little different now compared to in the past. He now holds his left hand far out in front of him the way that Wladimir Klitschko does to keep his opponents from being able to get close enough to nail him. However, Price wasn’t able to keep his left hand held high for long, as he dropped it back down to his side like he used and was there to be hit if Perkovic had the inclination to throw anything.
Price needs to face better opposition than what’s he’s been fighting in his last two fights if he wants a crack at Anthony Joshua. I think it would be an embarrassment if Joshua were to fight Price right now given the dreadful opposition he’s been fighting. Without Price proving that he’s gotten better since his knockout losses to Tony Thompson and Erkan Teper, I think it would be a bad idea for him to fight Anthony Joshua for his IBF heavyweight title. If Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn made a fight between Joshua and Price right now, the British boxing public would be irate if the fight turned out to be a mismatch. They’ve already had to see three mismatches in a row with Joshua being fed Dominic Breazeale, Charles Martin and the injured Dillian Whyte.
Hearn needs to only put Joshua in with quality opponents from this point on. If Price can prove himself by beating Joseph Parker first, then I say let him fight Joshua. I’m not holding my breath waiting for Price to beat a talent like Parker in this lifetime. If Price and Parker face each other, it’s going to be massacre city with Parker blasting Price around the ring like a rag doll. It would be a good undercard fight, but definitely not a main event type of affair. Hearn needs to make that fight before Joshua vs. Parker takes place.
