Price, Fury Raising The Stakes For British Heavyweights

Two heavyweights who are bringing excitement back into British boxing are David Price and Tyson Fury.

I have been very impressed with both fighters in their most recent outings and both men certainly are making an impact in the world heavyweight scene. I was disappointed that Price vs. Fury did not happen, but one must think that this showdown would be better, from a promoter’s perspective, two or three years down the line.

I personally would prefer to see this fight when both men are more established, which no doubt they are both on track for doing this. I personally believe these two are already making an impression in the heavyweight division and Wladimir Klitschko certainly acknowledged their impact in his post-fight press conference against John Mark Mormeck.

This is encouraging for both fighters, and they are certainly on track to getting a showdown with Wladimir due to their size and what they bring to the ring. I personally would love to see both men getting their opportunity against Wladimir in two or three years’ time when, in my opinion, Wladimir will be on the slide by then.

It’s a true opportunity for both men to establish themselves as champion when the Klitschko dominance will be fading in the not too distance future.

Firstly, however, David Price has a tough test this weekend against an established domestic heavyweight in Sam Sexton. I think this fight is make or break for both men and has come at a good time for this pair of fighters who clash at the Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool tonight.

I was very impressed with Price against John McDermott, who I thought would have got some rounds in against Price and I personally thought Price would have been tested.

McDermott landed a solid punch straight away but that did not deter Price at all, as he put on a demolition job against McDermott. As a boxing fan, this was truly encouraging to see and it has shown the heavyweight boxing scene that Price is going to make an impact in this weight class and he is a live challenger.

I have been impressed with the professionalism with Price, I read that he had some good sparring against Kubrat Pulev in Germany and this will no doubt be invaluable experience.

Pulev was impressive against Alexander Dimitrenko in Germany and he has shown that he is a great heavyweight and will make an impact at the top. If Price has held his own in sparring against Pulev, I would have to feel that Price is really going to perform against Sexton this weekend.

Sam Sexton is no push over though, and watching him recently, he is not going to turn up to simply get knocked out against Price. This is his opportunity, after the disappointment with the Dereck Chisora fights, to really push his name up there again in the European heavyweight bracket.

Watching Price in the Olympics, there will always be the question whether or not he can take a punch? We have seen him knocked out before; could Sexton be the one to test that chin properly this weekend?

I personally do not think he will be able to, as I have been very impressed with Price recently. However, I do believe Sexton has it in him to give Price some decent rounds and it will certainly be a great fight for Sky Sports this weekend.

Similar to what Tyson Fury was saying in his last outing against Martin Rogan, Price needs to make this fight routine and show that he is a true talent in the heavyweight division.

I am really excited for this fight and I hope Price shows up, no doubt he will, I am looking forward to watching his progress over the rest of 2012. He needs to get a lot from this fight and then get matched with a strong European contender.

I feel he is on that level now and is moving closer towards world level. We will see this weekend, but I believe he is class and will show us that this weekend.

The next British heavyweight to examine is Tyson Fury, who was equally impressive against Martin Rogan in his last outing. I thought Rogan would have tested Fury more, considering how much of a true fight Fury was in against Nevin Pajkic last time out.

Fury got into an unnecessary war last time out in my opinion but he showed great character from getting off the floor to end the fight. He needed to do just that, as I was scared that Pajkic was going to knock out Fury and that would not have been nice to see.

I think Fury has had a lot of distractions out of the ring and it showed in that performance. However, he did what he needed to do in the end and the fight was exciting and I was happy as it was free on Channel 5, which I believe is good for British boxing.

Fury turned up in great shape against Rogan, and It was very impressive to see him in his southpaw stance. Rogan had no chance against a focused and in shape Fury and that was very encouraging to see after the last performance against Pajkic.

It has got me interested in Fury because after pulling out of the Price fight and his performance against Pajkic I personally thought Fury might have been on a downward spiral, which was not good to see. However, he did look highly motivated and in shape and I hope Fury remains focused because he is a great character and I really enjoy watching him fight. He is young and has potential, and I hope the British public get behind his career and continue to watch him impress on Channel 5.

Fury needs a strong challenge next, and I think his promoter, Hennessey Sports, should not be scared to match him against a decent challenger next time out. Fury looks up for it again, and this is encouraging to see from a 23 year old undefeated heavyweight challenger.

I think Fury brings a lot to the table, but no doubt he needs to keep gaining experience and putting on performances like he did against Rogan. The potential I believe is there if he remains focused. I hope he has a tough next fight and keeps on track for a world title clash and a David Price bout in the future.

Both men bring excitement to British heavyweight boxing and I hope they meet in the future, when they have established themselves more and gained more experience in heavyweight action. No doubt they will though and I am enjoying the journeys of both men.

David Price needs to be solid this weekend, and my pick is that he will win during the middle rounds by knockout. Sexton will be more of a challenge than McDermott in my opinion, but Price is so strong and tall and this will be the factor in the fight, Price will win by knockout I believe and will take credit from this fight and move on.

I cannot wait, good luck to both Price and Sexton!

For more articles by Tam Darkes-Seddon look at my saddo-boxing articles link: https://www.saddoboxing.com/author/tam-seddon

Or if you want to follow me, for discussion here is my
facebook : http://www.facebook.com/tam.seddon?ref=tn_tnmn
Hotmail: Tamdsboxingperspectives@hotmail.co.uk
twitter account: https://twitter.com/#!/TDSBoxingtalk

I look forward from here some responses to this article and I will continue to do perspectives on British boxing in the future, next week I will look at Carl Froch-Lucian Bute which will be a fantastic fight in Nottingham.