Price, Fury, Chisora: Three British Heavyweight Hopes

By Shaun Murphy – Being a British boxing fan I’ve learned to be thick skinned. Although the UK’s always achieved sporadic success in the lighter divisions; in the heavyweights there usually isn’t too much strength in depth. Of course, there have been exceptions, such as Tommy Farr, Henry Cooper, Frank Bruno and Lennox Lewis — who all became significant figures in boxing’s glamour division.  However, year after year, the UK’s big men have been a sorry second place to their American counterparts. Nevertheless, I believe the current crop of British prospects could surprise the whole boxing world and produce some genuine world-class fighters. For this article, I’ve decided to list the best prospects in my country and hopefully give you some information on them you didn’t know before..

David Price

This guy is huge. At six-foot-eight and eighteen stone; David Price is the prototype for the age of the giants. Raised in the hard-knocks town of Liverpool; the huge Plumber distinguished himself as one of Britain’s best ever amateurs. Reading the UK’s Boxing News, I became aware of Price when he first won the ABA’s. All across the amateur circuit, the huge Liverpudlian created massive excitement as a man to watch. The first time I saw Price fight was in a Cuba–England international. I was impressed, for a big man ‘’Pricey’’ was mobile and he stopped the Cuban with a succession of body shots. Price also beat the American-prospect Travis Kauffman in the vest, and won the ABA title three times. The big man’s amateur highlight was the Beijing Olympics; where the Liverpudlian won the bronze medal.

As a pro Price could do big things: in Britain, especially, his dominance in the amateurs will intimidate other fighters who competed at the same time. Under the auspices of David Haye’s promotional company; he has the contacts to go all the way. Haye, himself, has remarked Price has the tools to go all the way saying, ‘’he has every punch in the book.’’ Unfortunately, at this stage, we can only access how Price compares to other pros from sparring and amateur fights. For example, it’s well known, in the amateurs, Derek Chisora called out the Liverpudlian giant and was ‘’schooled’’ in the gym. There has been criticism about Price’s chin, but I think he has a serious chance of winning a world title.

Derik Chisora

I know a lot about Del Boy; unbelievably, I was going to fight him in the vest. As an amateur, at first, the Zimbabwean-born tough guy wasn’t especially talented. Then Chisora just exploded in the novice champions; with a series of knockouts.  It became clear, Chisora had a very good uppercut and he was a natural for the pros. After the Novices, ‘’Del Boy’’ became No. 8 in the country and looked certain to win the ABA’s. In 2005, Chisora won the prestigious ABA belt and turned pro two years later.

Derik Chisora, if nothing else, is very ambitious and has been a hard worker since his amateur career. Derik’s hard punch and London roots could attract a huge fan base, but I feel ‘’Del Boy’’ lacks the secret ingredients to put-it-all-together and really excel in the sport. However, Chisora has shown glimpses of his fearsome amateur reputation with some impressive wins. Including beating Sam Sexton in the last few seconds of a six–round contest. Unfortunately, Chisora is on a ban at the moment for savagely biting the journeyman Paul Butlin in his last fight. As punishment, Chisora has lost his opportunity to fight for Danny Williams’ British title. Me personally, I believe the Londoner is tough but he might not get past domestic level.

Tyson Fury

I won’t be believed, but I have been following Fury since his second amateur fight. For two reasons: he is the second cousin of the bare-knuckle boxer Bartley Gorman, and when I read about his second fight in the Boxing News they espoused Tyson Fury ‘’looked the part.’’ Fighting isn’t in Tyson’s blood; it is his blood. Hailing from a line of bare-knuckle brawlers, the six-foot-nine-inch powerhouse is as naturally talented as you can get. At 18, in the vest, at super-heavyweight, Tyson was number three in the world for his age. Immediately, Fury’s success sparked a bitter rivalry with David Price. Fury fought David Price in the amateurs, but he wasn’t experienced enough to win. However, from that contest, a war of words has enveloped that could possibly create a blockbuster for the future.

What can I say? For a six-fight novice, this man has gathered a lot of attention. Like most Irish travellers Fury’s got a big mouth, and I love him for it [I lived on a site when younger!] Tyson’s main asset is speed: unusually, for a big man, Fury throws his punches in blinding combinations and his height makes countering very difficult. Against the idiosyncratic Marcel Zeller; for instance, the Irish/British super talent showed how hard it was to get past his long arms. Fury’s last fight, against Scott Belshaw, displayed he can fight massive punchers and win even at this early stage.   According to reports, Fury’s chin is very strong and it’s obvious he has bags of talent. Tyson’s dad, John Fury, an ex-pro boxer, remarked that his son could ‘’box the ears of a prime George Foreman.’’ I agree, as I think in the future he has the potential to do just that. 

So there you are, I think the Americans, the Russians and everyone else should watch out for these British heavyweights. And I’ll stand by my guns, I believe Tyson fury’s going all the way. Not just to the world title, but to a place were no British heavyweight has gone before…