Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn is interested in matching former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price (18-2, 15 KOs) against his unbeaten heavyweight Anthony Joshua (9-0, 9 KOs) next year in a fight that he believes the British boxing public will be interested in seeing. Judging by the boos from the British fans last Saturday night when Hearn floated that idea to them, it might not be a fight that the fans want to see.
Price was at ringside for Joshua’s 2nd round demolition of 34-year-old Russian journeyman Denis Bakhtov (38-10, 25 KOs) last night at the O2 Arena in London, UK. Price said that if he’s the guy that ends up facing the 6’6” Joshua next year, he’ll be looking to take his head off. He won’t be just messing around trying to give him rounds. He’ll be loading up on his shots looking to KO him. It would be a survival of the fittest fight for Price, because he would have to go all out in the first couple of rounds in order to keep from becoming another one of Joshua’s early knockout victims.
“I’m not this durable fighter, who comes in to get rounds in. I’ll be going in to take his head off his shoulders type of thing, without sounding too manic,” Price said to Sky Sports after the Joshua-Bakhtov fight. “I’ll be going out with the same intentions as Anthony Joshua. It will be like an explosive fight. But as far as getting rounds in, he’s not going to get tested until he does step up.”
You can make an argument that the 6’8” Price has better punching power than Joshua. Price can really punch when he lands his shots on the button. Joshua seems to push his punches more, and he seems slower because of all the muscle that he’s carrying around on his upper body. He can punch, but he’s not a huge puncher. Price would definitely have the power advantage against Joshua.
Whether that would translate into a victory would depend on how fast Price comes out of the blocks. If he starts quickly and unloads everything in his arsenal in the 1st two rounds, he’ll have a decent chance of knocking Joshua out. But if Price starts slowly or if he fights without aggressiveness, he’ll lose. He’s got to come out on fire in order to beat Joshua.