You’ve got to hand it to David Price. The former Olympian, former British champion and one-time “sure thing” for world honours at pro level has consistently taken each and any big fight offered to him. Now, with an opportunity arising in the form of a fight with unbeaten Russian prospect Sergey Kuzmin, the 35 year old took it with both hands. Price will once again roll the dice, go for it, on an Anthony Joshua under-card, against a Russian puncher.
Last time out, Price was flattened by Alexander Povetkin, but the Liverpool man put on a good performance early doors, even scoring an official knockdown over the former WBA champ. Now Price gets another “last chance” against the unbeaten but still untested Kuzmin, 12-0(9). And promoter Eddie Hearn, who was pleased to be able to add another heavyweight shoot-out to his September 22 main event, has said that “one of these days, David Price will win a big one.”
Can Price, 22-5(18) do it this time?
Kuzmin, a fine amateur boxer, is already 31 years of age and he will be taking a pretty big step up against Price. Price, for all his shortcomings, can punch with the best of them and Kuzmin may well find this out first-hand. Kuzmin has been in with some recognisable names – Amir Mansour (a No Contest that ended after three-rounds), Darnell Wilson, a TKO win for Kuzmin and Malcolm Tann, a KO win – but Price is the best foe he has yet signed to fight. And, with Price having began serious training for his aborted October fight with Sean Turner, he will be in shape and he will be ready.
As Hearn said, Kuzmin is a very promising heavyweight, well looked after by World of Boxing and a team-mate of Povetkin, but he is still learning and he is inexperienced. If Price lets his hands go the way he did against Povetkin, in a fight that really saw Price try hard, who knows, maybe we will see Kuzmin’s chin tested in a big, big way. Maybe this interesting heavyweight bout (as long as he is fighting, there will be fan interest in Price; such is the appeal of any big hitter) will turn into a thrilling firefight, maybe one that sees both men hit and hurt.
One cannot help but feel that, at some point, Price’s chin/lack of an airtight defence (a bad combo indeed) will let him down yet again, but as Hearn said, there will be plenty of people rooting for Price and hoping he can do it this time. This is surely Price’s last, last chance.
