Will Barnes Pay the Pryce?
| British Welterweight Champion David Barnes and challenger Bradley Pryce have come out slugging before their fight at the Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes on Friday 4 March. Mancunian Barnes, 27, makes the fourth defence of his title against the tough Welshman and both have opened a war of words that they aim to settle on the night. Unbeaten in 17 fights, |  © Mike Cleary |
Barnes is one of the hottest talents in Britain and underlined his credentials with a stunning sixth round stoppage of rival James Hare to win the title outright. He said, “Although Pryce is a good fighter, he will not be a match for me. He gets hit way too much and his style is made for me. What will he do to cope with a slick, hard-hitting, southpaw? “Pryce is very mouthy so I hope he can back it up on the night. I’ll let him talk the talk and I’ll walk-the-walk.” Pryce, 25, from Newbridge has been involved in exciting scraps from super-featherweight to light middleweight and caused big upsets with victories over unbeaten Russians Ivan Kirpa and Sergei Stepkin.
The fiery Welshman stormed, “Barnes is dreaming if he thinks he can beat me because I’m the toughest that he’s ever faced. I’m preparing thoroughly for this fight, a luxury I’ve not had in the past, and my confidence is sky-high, Hare just stood in front of him and didn’t hit back and Barnes used him as a punch bag. He won’t do that to me, I’ll put constant pressure on him from the first round and I’m predicting a stoppage quite late.
“If he’s wandering how I will deal with a southpaw – I’ve a secret up my sleeve for that.”
Also featuring on the card is the WBU International Light-Middleweight Thomas ‘Stormboy’ McDonagh and ‘Magic’ Matthew Hatton plus hot prospect Derry Matthews from Liverpool. A further 3 contest are to be added to the card.