In breaking news, Liverpool’s David Price will take on Alexander Povetkin on March 31st, in Cardiff, Wales. The bout has just been announced and will take place on the undercard of the huge heavyweight unification clash, between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker. The announcement will be a surprise to many boxing fans, with Price losing two of his last five fights and Povetkin’s questionable history with PED’s. The bout is slated to be for the WBA Inter-Continental title and the WBO International title.
Price, 34, was once destined for the top but that dream was destroyed back in 2013, when American Tony Thompson knocked Price out in two brutal rounds. A rematch five months later ended a similar way, with Thompson knocking Price out in five rounds this time. The 6’8″ Price rebuilt and came back with four consecutive wins, before landing a European title shot against Erkan Teper. Again however, Price suffered another loss, with the German brutally knocking out Price in the second round. Teper then however failed a post fight drug test, but it took five months to come to light, much to the disgust of Price and his team. Teper was subsequently banned.
Price has been vocal in the past about drug cheats within the sport and is adamant that his record should only have one loss on it, that being against Christian Hammer. This is because Tony Thompson also failed a post fight drug test after their rematch in 2013, testing positive for masking agent hydrochlorothiazide. Povetkin himself tested positive for a banned substance, ahead of his fight with Bermane Stiverne in December 2016, although his B-sample came back negative and he avoided a ban.
The 6′ 2″ Russian will prove to be a tough test for the British fighter having only tasted defeat once in 34 fights. That was to the great Wladimir Klitschko back in 2013, when he lost a unanimous decision over 12 grueling rounds. He is now aged 38 though and has had some tough fights over the years, and it is plausible that Price’s timing could be perfect. The British man from the city of Liverpool, does not have the best defense and has major stamina issues. He does however possess huge power, and if he can find a way past Povetkin’s defense he could cause the Russian serious problems.
Povetkin is currently ranked No 1 by the WBA and will be hoping to reclaim the title he once held. For Price, the opportunity to face a world class fighter and former world champion has appeared from nowhere. He will start as a big underdog with the bookmakers and it will undoubtedly be a tough fight. If however he was to pull off the upset against Povetkin, it would propel him to near the top of the world rankings. He might even land that elusive world title shot if he gets lucky.
