By James Slater – Tonight in Liverpool, on the under-card of the Stephen Smith-John Simpson British featherweight title fight return, unbeaten heavyweight prospect David Price scored a sensational-looking 1st-round TKO over dangerous American Raphael Butler.
27-year-old Price, fighting in front of his home town fans, was expected to be tested by the 46-fight veteran from Rochester, Minnesota. Instead, the tall (6‘8”) athletic 250-pounder got the job done inside two minutes. After setting his punches up with his fast, accurate left jab, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist landed a huge right hand flush on the shorter man’s chin..
27-year-old Butler went down hard, clearly badly hurt. Bravely he beat the count, but Butler was soon under more fight and a somewhat grazing left hook to the top of the head sent him down for a second time. Again Butler beat the count, but this time referee Steve Grey decided he had had enough. The official time came at 1-minute and 47 seconds. Price is now 10-0(8). Butler is now 35-10(28).
Price now looks ahead to a big British showdown with experienced tough guy “Big Bad” John McDermott. The two men know each other quite well, having sparred before, and promoter Frank Maloney says he expects a hard fight.
Speaking after he’d despatched Butler, Price said he is 100-percent sure he will win on June 11th.
“I’m delighted with tonight’s win,” Price said of the Butler stoppage. “He was a dangerous opponent. I won’t be tested until I’m, at the top level; I’m world class now, I know I am. McDermott’s definitely next, another step up. I expect a tough fight, but a win.”
McDermott, so many times the nearly man in big fights, is coming off a 1st-round KO of his own – the February blow-out he scored over the muscled Larry Olubamiwo. As such, only a fool would write off the 31-year-old with the 26-7(17) pro ledger.
Maloney says he hopes to stage the June clash, which will likely be a British heavyweight title eliminator, in Liverpool. McDermott has been 12 and 10-rounds a number of times. Price has yet to go further than the 7th. Can McDermott take Price into the deep waters in the summer, or will he be yet another KO victim for the exciting, ultra-promising hope?
Along with (the more accomplished) Derek Chisora and Tyson Fury and Richard Towers, Price makes up an interesting set of up-and-coming U.K big men.