David Price (boxer)

Amateur career

Early in his career, Price boxed for Long Lane ABC before leaving through lack of available funding, for Salisbury ABC and in 2003 became the youngest ever A.B.A champion in the super-heavyweight division, at 19 years and 272 days old. He competed for England at a number of international tournaments, he beat Travis Kauffman twice at the 2003 USA vs. England Tournament. In August 2003 he won the Commonwealth Confederations tournament in Kuala Lumpur, defeating Muzzafar Iqbal of Pakistan 21:9, and Justin Whitehead of Australia 22:6. He then defeated Gregory Corbin on points in the England–US duel in Liverpool.

Price lost to Roberto Cammarelle in the quarter-finals of the European Amateur Boxing Championships in Bulgaria in 2004, a defeat that prevented him from going to the Athens Olympics. Later that year Price made it to the finals of the Tammer Tournament in Finland, but he was stopped by Bermane Stiverne. He bounced back to win his second A.B.A Title in March 2005, defeating Damien Campbell of Repton ABC in the final. He also went on to win the 4 Nations Championships and two weeks later, a win which enabled him to compete in the inaugural 4 Nations vs Cuba match, in which he was his side's sole victor, defeating Lisovan Hernandez. He participated at the 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships but lost on points to Robert Helenius 25-22.

At the Strandya Cup in Bulgaria, he was stopped by Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov, though he ended the year on a high note defeating highly touted teenage compatriot and future unified world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury 22:8. Then going on to win his 3rd A.B.A title, defeating Tom Dallas 27:4. At the 2007 Commonwealth Championships he stopped Australian Daniel Beahan in the final.

2006 Commonwealth Games

Price captained the 2006 Commonwealth Games boxing team in Melbourne and achieved a gold medal there, beating Indian Varghese Johnson in the process, despite being knocked down three times.

2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships

At the 2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Chicago he defeated three opponents including Marko Tomasović of Croatia 23:11, Frenchman Mohamed Samoudi whom he stopped, Primislav Dimovski (Skopje) 20:4 but a hand injury kept him from showing for his fight against Roberto Cammarelle. GB head coach Terry Edwards said: "David has boxed particularly well in these World Championships and it is therefore a big disappointment that he was unable to box for automatic Olympic qualification here in Chicago, a right he had fought for."

2008 Olympic Games

Two years after his Commonwealth Games success, Price captained the GB team who went to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games, beating Romanian World Junior Champion Cristian Ciocanu to qualify. Price met European Champion Islam Timurziev in the first round of the Olympics, and stopped Timurziev in the second round after dropping him to the canvas on two occasions in the round, the scores were level at 2:2 at the time. The next round saw Price matched against Lithuanian Jaroslavas Jakšto but Price progressed into the next round after Jakšto retired with an injury at the end of the first round when the scorecards favored Price, 3:1. Guaranteed at least a bronze medal, David Price was to meet Italian world champion Roberto Cammarelle, a bout in which the referee stopped in the second round when the scores favored the eventual Olympic gold medalist, Cammarelle, 10:1. The Englishman ended an impressive run at the Olympics with a bronze medal in the 91+kg Super-Heavyweight division. After winning a bronze medal, and not achieving the gold he sorely wanted, he announced his intention to turn professional.

Early career

He stopped fellow British fighter Tom Dallas at the Liverpool Olympia, inflicting a second-round TKO propelling Price closer to a British Title shot. He scheduled a bout with John McDermott, due to take place on 5 November 2011, but Price was forced to pull out of the British and Commonwealth title eliminator with a rib injury which he suffered in sparring with former England team-mate Danny Price. Price also sparred with fellow heavyweight David Haye before Haye's world title fight with Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in July 2011.

On 21 January 2012 David Price was fighting for the English Heavyweight title against an experienced fighter in John McDermott. The winner of the bout would be the mandatory challenger against the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury; who many fans and pundits felt that McDermott won against in the first bout between the pair. It only took 73 seconds of the first round for Price to win against McDermott. Price knocked down McDermott 3 times before the referee, Howard John Foster, decided to end the bout; inflicting McDermott with a TKO defeat.

ESPN Prospect of the year

On 19 May 2012 at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, David Price beat Sam Sexton in a fourth-round KO victory, and won the vacant British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. Widely considered Price's best performance to date, he impressively controlled the bout with his jab and distance, hurting Sexton badly whenever he connected. In the fourth round Price knocked Sexton out cold. Price's promoter Frank Maloney likened the victory to Lennox Lewis' breakout performance against Donovan Ruddock and Price was universally considered at that time to be the most dangerous up and coming contender in the division.

On 13 October 2012 he made his first defence of his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles against fellow Olympian Audley Harrison at Liverpool's Echo Arena on the 'Battle of the Olympians' bill, scoring the most brutal and vicious knockout of his career to date. Price landed a powerful right hand after 30 seconds sending Harrison retreating to the ropes, he then unloaded with a concussive combination; an uppercut followed by body blow and then a right hand that shattered Harrison's nose and sent him to the canvas unconscious. It had taken Price just 82 seconds to score the win and he showed genuine concern for his opponent after the fight. Immediately after the fight, it was confirmed that Price would box Matt Skelton on 30 November. He knocked out Skelton in the 2nd round of the fight.

As a result of his impressive performances and formidable punching power, Price was named Prospect of the Year by ESPN in 2012.

Price vs. Thompson

On 23 February 2013, Price lost his first professional fight, as he was stopped in two rounds by former world title challenger Tony Thompson. Price was a heavy betting favourite among bookmakers and many were intrigued to see how Price would fare against a common Wladimir Klitschko opponent. Price took his time but was seemingly in total control of the bout. In the second round Price caught Thompson with a right hand sending him hurt to the ropes, he then launched his first big attack of the bout. Thompson had been cautious and tentative throughout and it looked as though he was soon to be taken over and stopped, however to the crowd's shock Thompson threw a counter right hand that hit him awkwardly behind the ear sending him to the canvas, Price beat the count but the location of the punch behind the ear and on the neck damaged his equilibrium and the bout was waved off. Thompson had scored the heavyweight upset of the year at that point.

Price vs. Thompson II

On 6 July 2013, Price fought Thompson for the second time in five months. Price put Thompson down heavily in round 2 with a powerful right hook, Thompson beat the count but attested afterwards that it was the hardest he'd ever been hit in his life. Price seemed very emotionally involved in the bout and as such grew frustrated and weary as the fight wore on. Both men traded shots in an exciting encounter but Thompson grew with confidence and began to take over the latter part of the fight. Price, who seemed unusually exhausted after round 4, was ordered by Lennox Lewis from ringside to stand up in the corner between rounds to liven himself. Price seemed to collapse mentally and physically in the fifth round, at one point turning his back to Thompson and retreating to the corner where the referee started a count. Price motioned as though he had given up and the referee stopped the fight awarding Thompson a 5th-round TKO victory. After this loss it was announced that Thompson had failed a drugs test and was subsequently banned by the British Boxing Board of Control for 18 months.

Back to winning ways

On 15 November 2013, it was announced that Price would be signing a promotional deal with German boxing promoter Team Sauerland and on 5 December 2013 it was announced that he would be vacating his British and Commonwealth titles.

In his first fight back following the back-to-back losses to Thompson, Price got back to winning ways with a first-round knockout victory over Istvan Ruzsinszky in Stuttgart, Germany on 25 January 2014. Price displayed his trademark power flooring Ruzsinszky, who was a late replacement for Konstantin Airich, with a big right hand.

Price recorded a second successive win on 12 April 2014 with the third-round knockout of Ondrej Pala in Esbjerg, Denmark. Price was caught in the first round and sent to the canvas but incredibly was able to not only beat the count but recover immediately, Pála couldn't believe Price was still standing and seemed disheartened. Price ended matters with a brutal third-round knockout and was visibly happy with his display of heart and power. Price was forced to climb off the canvas after a flash knockdown in the opening round, but was able to regain his composure in the second stanza before flooring Pala twice in the third and final round, forcing the referee to call a halt to the action.

In his next contest, Price comfortably outpointed Yaroslav Zavorotnyi on 7 June 2014 in Schwerin, Germany. After ten hard fought rounds, for the first time in four years, the former British and Commonwealth went the scheduled distance, leaving the decision in the hands of the judges.

On 21 February 2015, Price defeated Irineu Beato Costa Junior in Berlin, Germany. After a cautious start, Price began to boss his Brazilian opponent around the ring, before unloading a massive right hand in the sixth-round to finish the fight prematurely. Following the fight Price declared his intentions to return home to Liverpool for his next fight. Price was also made mandatory challenger for the vacant European Heavyweight title.

Price vs. Teper

On 15 May 2015, it was announced that Price would fight German boxer Erkan Teper, little-known but with an undefeated record of (14-0, 9 KOs) on 17 July 2015. The bout was for the vacant EBU (European) Heavyweight title and presented an opportunity for Price to become a top contender again. Price, who was the betting favourite, was caught in the second round with a left hook that knocked him unconscious. However, the German was later found to have failed a drugs test. Teper was subsequently banned and the result changed to a No-Contest.

Career from 2016–2017

In February 2016, Price confirmed Dave Coldwell as his new trainer ahead of his May 29 fight at Goodison Park. It was announced Price would fight Vaclav Pejsar (9-2, 8 KOs) on the Bellew-Makabu undercard. Price was considerably bigger and more solid than in previous fights. During the first round, Price threw a counter uppercut that knocked Pejsar to the ground for the first time in his career and gave him a black eye. Pejsar came out aggressively in the second but eventually got put down from another uppercut and failed to beat the count. Following the victory Price publicly announced his desire to challenge current IBF champion Anthony Joshua.

Price continued his comeback on 1 October in Germany, stopping journeyman Ivica Perkovic in the second round with a body shot. Price was in control from the opening and his speed and power seemingly too much for the journeyman with a reputation for durability. Price hit Perkovic so hard in round two that it forced him to ask for the fight to be stopped as he was in too much agony to continue. He stated he now wanted to fight Joseph Parker if he can not secure a fight with Joshua. Price signed to fight Dave Allen in another tune up bout on 22 October but was forced to pull out due to illness.

Price vs. Hammer

On 8 January 2017 it was announced that Price would fight on the undercard of IBO super-middleweight bout Eubank Jr.-Quinlan at the Olympia in London on 4 February against WBO European heavyweight champion Christian Hammer (20-4, 11 KOs) to take place on ITV Box Office. Hammer won a split decision against previously undefeated Erkan Teper in October 2016. On 3 February, a day before the fight, it was confirmed that Hammer's WBO European heavyweight title would be at stake, as well as the fight being an official world title eliminator. Price started the fight well using his reach advantage to keep Hammer at a distance. In round 5, Price connected with an uppercut which floored Hammer, however he beat the count and the fight resumed. The end came when Hammer landed hooks to the head of Price as the referee looked at him and decided to stop the fight, giving Hammer the win via TKO in round 7.

On 7 August 2017, it was announced that Price would fight again on the undercard of Callum Smith vs. Erik Skoglund at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on 16 September 2017. Price last fought at the Echo Arena in July 2013, where he lost his second consecutive fight to American veteran Tony Thompson. It was revealed that Price had parted ways with trainer Dave Coldwell and would now train with George Vaughan, Derry Mathews and Joe McNally. Price called this fight a 'make or break' for career. A day later, it was announced that he would fight journeyman Raphael Zumbano Love. Former trainer Coldwell stated based on his last conversation with Price, he had decided to retire. Coldwell wished Price well in his return. Following a hand injury suffered in training, the fight was called off.

Personal life

Price is a club patron of A.F.C. Liverpool.