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Today it has been announced that Liverpool’s undefeated big hitting Commonwealth and British Heavyweight champion David Price will be making the first defence of his titles at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on the 13th October against fellow Olympic Alumni Audley Harrison the former European and PrizeFighter champion.
Price clinched the titles back in May against former Commonwealth champion Sam Sexton with a fourth round knockout that sent out a powerful statement of intent to the European heavyweight scene that the giant likable Scouser is going to pose a considerable threat to all comers in the post Klitschko era.
Harrison gets his opportunity to challenge for the prestigious Lonsdale belt at the age of 40 for the first time following a fourth round technical knockout of Iraqi born heavyweight Ali Adams for the International Masters title in Brentwood.
While Harrison was tripping the light fantastic on the Television show Strictly Come Dancing, Price was building his reputation as one of the best heavyweight prospects in the world with regular top line sparring and has since broken out in 2012 demolishing John McDermott in a British heavyweight final eliminator in just one round before getting his crack at Sexton.
Both men off set each other while you take into account their records. Price has a 11 year age advantage being only 29 and the height advantage standing at a neck stretching 6ft 8 to Harrison’s 6ft 5, while Harrison has a four inch reach advantage of 86 inches to Price’s 82 inches.
But Price has the edge in knockout power having dispatched 11 of his 13 opponents since turning professional back in 2009 after clinching the bronze medal at Super Heavyweight at the Beijing Olympics while Harrison has scored only 21 knockouts in his 28 wins, but has suffered five defeats in comparison to Price’s yet to be blemished professional record.
However, Price has yet to be beyond the eighth round in his brief but eye catching professional career to date, which does pose questions about his stamina should the fight go into the championship rounds, while Harrison has been beyond 10 rounds six times in his long and times unfulfilled professional career which started back in May 2001 after winning gold in the Sydney Olympics.
As an obvious result of his longer professional career, Harrison has been more championship fights against some of the best British heavyweights of the last 15 years such as Danny Williams, twice in 2005 and 2006, failing to win the Commonwealth crown on a split points decision, only to gain his revenge a year and two fights later with a third round stoppage in a 12 round non title bout.
Along with these two fights against Williams, Harrison has gone 1-1 with Reading’s Michael Sprott, getting knocked out in three rounds the first time in 2007 with the EU Heavyweight title on the line gaining his revenge in April 2010 with a dramatic 12th round knockout to claim the European Heavyweight title at the Alexandra Palace.
Harrison can turn a fight around when he has to, while the only standout names on Price’s record are McDermott and Sexton, who lasted a total of five rounds between them against Price.
So, from this study of their records it shows that are many factors that balance each other out which makes this fight a more appealing match up than it first appears.
An aging star in the shape of Harrison, knowing that everything is on the line against a rising heavyweight star in Price, who is looking to add another scalp to his ever growing reputation as one of the most powerful and exciting heavyweights around.
With both men boasting impressive knockout percentages it is likely that the final bell will not be required in a partisan Liverpool Echo Arena with the younger and more powerful Price looking to deliver another powerful performance against an aging and but (hopefully) valiant Harrison.
