Heavyweight David Price Has to Take Stock After Latest Setback in His Career

Just over a week on from suffering a third professional defeat, David Price is still yet to confirm whether he will carry on fighting. 

The 32-year-old’s career is in doubt after he lost to Erkan Teper in Ludwigsburg on July 17.

The vast majority of boxing fans, not to mention plenty of former and current pros, offered words of support on Twitter in the immediate aftermath:

Yet, despite the outpouring of heartfelt commiserations, the result was a shattering blow for Price, a Liverpudlian who entered the professional ranks after claiming a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.

A friendly giant, standing at 6’8”, he seemed to have all the ingredients required for future success as a professional. The early progress only heightened expectations.

He began with 15 straight victories, in the process claiming the English, British and Commonwealth titles.

Audley Harrison—an Olympian who knows all about the problems of translating amateur success to the pros—was one of his victims, knocked out in 82 seconds.

However, the Price train came off the rails when he came up against Tony Thompson.

The veteran American twice travelled to his opponent’s back yard to beat the local boy. In the second bout Price dropped Thompson in the second round, raising hopes of redemption. Instead, he was the one on the canvas in the fifth.

The great Lennox Lewis, who had been drafted in to work with Price, was present at ringside, and told BBC Sport: “We know what we need to fix so we’ll go back to the drawing board and fix it.” 

It seems the problem was only fixed on a temporary basis.

Despite returning under a new promotion team, the Sauerland brothers, Price has been exposed again.

He had slowly rebuilt his reputation with wins on the road until Teper took him out inside two rounds. It was tough to watch, as you can see for yourself:

It was an ugly finish to the fight, but is it the end of the line for Price?

Jamie Moore—a former fighter who now works in the media—thinks so, according to his blog for Sky Sports:

"

Pricey could probably win a British title and get the Lonsdale but I don't think that was his aspiration. He wanted to be a world champion, so he must be devastated. 

He's been in some dark places before and I'm not sure he wants to go back there again. 

David is a level-headed guy and I am sure he has other things to do so while he is young enough and fresh enough to do something else, I hope he does that.

"

Walking away may seem the logical option, but it is tough to tell someone to give up on a dream when there is still a chance it could yet become a reality.

Jeff Powell of the Mail saw similarities to Frank Bruno, writing: “The comparison is based on the identical way in which Bruno froze when he was caught with a heavyweight blow flush on the chin.”

Bruno lost world title tilts against Tim Witherspoon, Mike Tyson and Lewis, with all three attempts ending in him being stopped.

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Yet he found a way to keep going, and eventually became a champion when he stopped Oliver McCall in 1995 at Wembley Stadium, the same venue where Witherspoon forced Bruno’s corner to throw in the towel nine years earlier.

There are other examples of overcoming early failure: Johnny Nelson lost his first three bouts but still went on to be a world champion at cruiserweight.

The best of all may be James Braddock, a heavyweight who became known as the Cinderella Man after defeating Max Baer in 1935. His story was so good that Hollywood made a movie about it.

The concern in the case of Price, however, is not the number of defeats—it is the manner in which he has suffered them.

Speaking to Powell, Kalle Sauerland said: "Like Bruno, David has a powerful offence and is capable of taking out any heavyweight in the world. But the defence is non-existent and if he is to box again we must make sure he is given a game plan with which to protect himself. You cannot afford to keep taking hits like this from heavyweights."

If Price is to return, he will need to do more than just tighten up his defence.

He told Micheal McKenna of the Liverpool Echo prior to the Teper fight: “After I had lost for the second time I started working with a mind coach called Terry McElhinney who helped open me up to new ideas, on how to approach things differently.”

That mental training will be crucial, if he does opt to carry on fighting.

But, his road to redemption has just been made a little longer. Considering he is now 32, Price may decide it is a path he does not want to head down.

That is a decision only he can make, and he is right to take his time over it.