Hands up who thought Price was the real deal back then? My hand is raised. We all know how it panned out over the years for Price but looking back, it is a career possibly wasted. Remember it took Haye, whom I was a massive fan of, 3 Rounds to KO Harrison. The Youtube comments make for very interesting reading. #nostalgia This content is protected
Yep I thought Price was the real deal back then, watching that back you can see how upright Price was and how uncomfortable he looks when Harrison throws anything. Just demonstrates that a fighter's chin and stamina have to be tested before really judging them especially a HW.
Will gladly admit I thought he was going all the way. I remember a few people like Hatman who said he was shaky under pressure and seem to have figured him out but it was few and far between.
Not wanting to claim wisdom after the event, but at the back of my mind with Price were the pastings he had taken from Cammarelle and Stiverne in the amateurs. The memories of those were fading though, and I definitely thought he would go a lot further than he has - probably something like a Bruno career with big knockout wins but always falling short at the highest level. In reality, his moments of success against Povetkin aside, he hasn’t been a world level operator which is below expectations for an Olympic medalist with overwhelming size and power.
Certainly thought he would beat Thompson (and in the rematch), and was very impressed by him... but unsure about going all the way to the top and beating Klit back then. Jury was still out on how he'd handle a punch and actual test, and it was soon revealed. The rest is history!
There were only a few people who predicted the level that Price was really at, prior to the TT fights. The vast majority myself included thought he would at least pick up a trinket at world level. He has proven to be only British level below European in reality. A lot of that is down to things he cannot really change: poor stamina, frighteningly poor punch resistance and lack of composure. He is still a big fan favourite and will continue to be very popular in his next fight. Although the quit job in his last fight if repeated again will sour us towards him. Go out on your sword in future Pricey
Yeah, when he was wiping out British level fighters with apparent ease, there was little reason to think that he was actually only British level himself. Even after the first Thompson fight, it seemed unlikely that he would get flattened by a Teper level fighter. As much of a liability as his chin has been, there were signs of this in the amateurs. The amateur format though gave no real warning of his dehabilitating stamina issues; without that he may well have beaten Hammer, and Thompson second time round.
I remember when he was a bigger prospect than Tyson fury. The Thompson defeat was a shock but anyone can lose a fight... The second loss was a reality check though and that was the end of his career
I would add that his physique hinders his hand speed and timing. When he tries to open up, he can be beaten to the punch, he is guilty of being too stationary a target when he throws.
