In an interview with IFL TV, former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price defended his performance in stopping Costa Jr in the sixth round in Berlin.
He was asked if he felt that he was too cautious in the first part of the fight. Many felt that Price was getting in rounds against a guy who was there for the taking and when given a big chance to shine like this Price should have shown himself to be a better fighter than he was on the night. Price replied to this by saying that he couldn’t listen to the people who would have him going in and taking risks from the first round. He wanted to box behind the jab, he wanted to build his confidence and get some rounds in, he wanted to wait for an opportunity before opening up the offence and turning up the pace, and to his credit when he found that opportunity he was brutally efficient.
When Price got his first knockdown of the sixth round he changed to a different fighter. He obviously sensed that the end was near and his man was showing every sign that he was there for the taking. He put his opponent down another two times and although Costa junior got up again each time, the towl was thrown in and the ref waved off the fight giving Price his stoppage win.
Price went on to say that his whole mentality had changed from his experiences in the ring. He has admitted that he may be a little less exciting than he once was, but this was the safer way to bank away the wins. He wanted a fighter who was ranked top ten by one of the organising bodies. He is looking to take that top ten ranking and get his name back in the mix. Interestingly Price then said he was looking for the easiest fight he could get.
Whilst listening to this I was confused at first. Price basically admitted that his promoters were going to get the easiest opponent they could find that would be worth facing and make sure it was a guy who didn’t have the style to beat Price. Whilst I know many promoters do look for the easy route for their fighters, it isn’t usually for the fighter to come out and say they only want easy work.
Price finished the interview by saying technically, mentally and physically the best he has ever been. This is good news because even when looking for weak opposition, he will have some real tough challenges in his immediate future if he is looking to net some big paydays.
