By James Slater: Twice postponed, the intriguing British heavyweight match-up that is unbeaten Olympian David Price against battle hardened, experienced John McDermott goes ahead this coming Saturday night, and opinions are divided as to what will happen in the fight.
Big things are expected of 28-year-old Price, 11-0(9), but his first acid test as a pro comes against “Big Bad John.” On one hand, some experts feel the 6’8” Price will come out and make a quick, statement-making stoppage win, while on the other hand some good judges think 6’3” McDermott, 26-7(17) will force his way inside and prove too stubborn, too savvy and too experienced for Price.
The 31-year-old Essex man sure has proven how adept he can be at bursting a guy’s bubble (or coming darn close to doing so). Back in Sept. 2009, McDermott succeeded in overcoming height and reach advantages in his first fight with the much-hyped Tyson Fury; losing a ten-round decision that still ranks as one of the worst in recent memory. With close (some say robbery defeats) at the hands of Danny Williams (twice) also on his record, McDermott is the epitome of a fighter who has never had things the easy way.
Rest assured, McDermott is not planning on allowing Liverpool’s Price to have things easy on Saturday. Both men are decent, down to earth people, and this fight has had no trash-talk whatsoever. Still, both men are confident of victory. Price recently told The Liverpool Echo about his planned tactics for the fight.
“This fight won’t be as easy as some people think,” Price said. “ John is a good come-forward fighter who will be there to win and who will make things difficult. I’m going to try and get him early, let him know how hard I punch and how strong I am. Even if he does get in close quarters, I do believe I can deal with it.”
So far in McDermott’s long, up and down career, only two men – Matt Skelton and Nikolay Popov – have managed to “get him early.” Big Matt halted a troubled McDermott in a single round back in 2005 (John had found out, just moments before the first bell, that his daughter had sadly passed away), while before that, in 2003, Popov scored a 2nd-round TKO due to McDermott twisting his ankle after suffering a knockdown. We all know McDermott has come on tremendously since those fights.
Price, with his natural punching power, long reach and speed and accuracy, has a chance to make this fight look easy and score a quick stoppage. But I wouldn’t bet on it. More likely, in my opinion, is a fight akin to the first Fury-McDermott battle. I can see the underrated McDermott being successful in getting on the inside (his only real chance of winning it seems) and then going to work on the younger man’s body and, if he can get some hooks and uppercuts off, his chin.
Again, this British heavyweight title eliminator really is the first true test of the talented Price’s career. Some see the 2008 Beijing bronze medallist as the best young heavyweight in Britain (and what a fight it would be if Price were to get it on with Fury; a man he has beaten as an amateur) – Price has to beat McDermott to make such lofty praise realistic.
I think Price will have his hands full in the early to middle rounds, before his strength, size and freshness allows him to either score a convincing points win or maybe score a late-rounds stoppage. If Price is able to blast McDermott out quickly he will have succeeded in making some statement.