David Price has admitted that he needs to “destroy” undefeated Brummie Kash Ali at The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on Saturday if he wants to keep his name relevant in the Heavyweight division.
The former British and Commonwealth Champion fights in is home city for the first time in nearly three years this weekend, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US, determined to prove he can still mix it at the top level as he aims to make a fresh title charge in 2019.
He is all too aware of the dangerous threat posed by 15-0 Ali, a hard-hitting former sparring partner who he has shared numerous rounds with, but says nothing less than convincing knockout win will suffice.
“I think I need to make a bit of a statement,” said Price. “With the Tom Little fight being stopped the way it did, I need to show people that I’m still a force to be reckoned with. If I want to keep my name out there I’ve to be destroying Kash Ali, and that’s exactly what I’m expecting to do. I’m looking to get rid of him in style to show everyone that I mean business.
“Kash Ali has stepped up to the plate to put his undefeated record on the line against me and I respect that. We sparred a lot of rounds at Dave Coldwell’s gym so I know what he’s all about. He’s young and hungry and he’s a very dangerous fighter. This is the kind of opponent that I needed, someone to get me up for a fight.
“We know each other and he’s alright. I’ve got nothing against him. He’s standing in the way of bigger things for me and I’m going to get in there and do a job on him, it’s as simple as that. He’ll be coming for my scalp, but I’ve got big plans for 2019 and he won’t be stopping them.
“I don’t feel like there’s any pressure on me. In a lot of peoples eyes, I’m shot, I’m this and I’m that. I’m just enjoying not having any pressure on me and I can’t wait to get another win in front of my home fans, it’s been a while.
“The Heavyweight landscape is constantly changing and you need to be ready to take your chances. There’s a lot of big names in the division who all need dance partners and there’s no reason I can’t throw my name back in the mix with a couple more wins.”
Kash Ali has vowed to “spark out” David Price in front of his home crowd and send him into retirement when they collide at The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on Saturday, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
The Heavyweight rivals became embroiled in a heated war of words at today’s final press conference at The Cunard Building, with undefeated Ali branding his former sparring partner as a quitter once again.
After 15 straight victories, Ali is determined to burst onto the British scene, and the Midlands man believes a win over a big name like Price in front of a huge TV audience will fire him towards domestic titles.
“This is my time to show all the boxing people that I’m not here to mess about,” said Ali. “Beating someone like David will put me straight in the mix. People at the top of the game should watch out. It’s a great opportunity to show my skills, and show that I’m a real contender.
“One hundred per cent, he’s getting knocked out. It’s not going to points, no way. I’m younger, I’m fresher. I’m made for this. David Price is getting sparked out in front of his own fans. If he loses to me, that’s it, which he will. I think he should pack it in after that.
“He’s had chance after chance and he’s thrown all of them away. This is my first chance on the big stage and I’m going to make it count. There’s no way I’m losing this fight. There could be 10 of him in the ring and I’d go through every single one.
“He’s always been a quitter. He’s quit before and he’ll quit again. He might have trained hard, he might be in good shape, had good sparring, but one thing you can’t buy, you can’t buy guts and you can’t buy heart. He’s going to sleep. I’m ending his career.”
Price vs. Ali is part of a huge night of action in Liverpool.
Main event sees former WBO Super-Welterweight World Champion Liam Smith make his long-awaited Liverpool homecoming against Sam Eggington.
Domestic Super-Lightweight rivals Joe Hughes and Robbie Davies Jr meet with the European and British titles on the line.
Former Great Britain teammates Anthony Fowler and Scott Fitzgerald look to settle their longstanding feud in a dynamite Super-Welterweight clash.
Liverpool’s Tom Farrell challenges Leytonstone’s Philip Bowes for the Commonwealth Super-Lightweight crown.
There’s also action for rising Liverpool Cruiserweight talent Craig Glover, ‘Miss GB’ Natasha Jonas and undefeated Super-Lightweight Ged ‘G-Man’ Carroll.
David Price meets Birmingham’s undefeated Heavyweight Kash Ali on the undercard of Liam Smith’s crunch Super-Welterweight clash with Sam Eggington at the M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on March 30, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
Price fights in Merseyside for the first time in nearly three years as he looks to make a fresh charge on the Heavyweight division following his recent win over Hatfield’s Tom Little at The O2.
The former British and Commonwealth Champion is determined to prove that he can still mix it with the top Heavyweights as he bids to return to title contention in 2019, but isn’t overlooking his former sparring partner.
“Kash Ali has stepped up to put his undefeated record on the line so he obviously fancies his chances,” said Price. “We know each other quite well but I’m looking to get rid of him in style to show everyone that I mean business. It’ll be great to get another win in front of my home crowd next month.
“We sparred a lot of rounds at Dave Coldwell’s gym, so I know what he’s all about. He’s young and hungry and he’s a very dangerous fighter. This is the kind of opponent that I needed, someone to get me up for a fight. He’ll be coming for my scalp, but I’ve got big plans for 2019 and he won’t be getting in the way of them.
“The Heavyweight landscape is always changing and you need to be ready to take your chances. There’s a lot of big names in the division who all need dance partners and there’s no reason I can’t throw my name back in the mix with a couple more wins.”
Tom Farrell will challenge Philip Bowes for the Commonwealth Super-Lightweight crown at The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on March 30, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
Farrell, 16-1, was last in title action in September 2017 when he lost out to Ohara Davies for the WBA International strap, and the popular Liverpudlian is itching to be involved in big title action again.
Leytonstone’s Bowes stopped Tanzanian Benson Nyilawila in two rounds to win the belt at York Hall over the weekend and the 34-year-old, trained by former British Champion Darren Hamilton and Leon McKenzie, is already targeting more titles at 140lbs.
“We’ve had our eyes on the Commonwealth title for a few weeks now as we knew Philip Bowes was going to be fighting for it,” said Bowes. “When we saw him win it in good fashion at the weekend we thought it’d be the perfect fight for us and I’m buzzing to get in there on March 30.
“Philip is a tricky opponent, he’s got a nice relaxed style and he’s going to be well-prepared on March 30. He’s going to be full of confidence coming off the back of a good win and I think it will be an exciting fight for the fans. I’ll probably be on early so it should be a strong start to the night.
“My loss to Ohara Davies was a bad night at the office for me. People that are close to me know what went wrong on that night and I’ve never made any excuses. I know that I wasn’t myself but I’ve had a good phase of rebuilding over the past year. I’ve got a fight in a couple of weeks just to get my sharpness back, I’m already feeling fit so it’s great that Liverpool show is another eight weeks off. I’m going to be in great shape come fight night.”
