Olympic medalist British heavyweight David Price won Prospect of the Year in 2012 (according to ESPN), after which he suffered two early defeats in a row from veteran Tony Thompson.
Having finally turned into a gatekeeper, Price retired in 2019 after losing to Derek Chisora. And his coolest profiring memory was sparring with future Olympic champion and unified world champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs), whom David knocked out.
At least that’s about it
tells Price himself: “It was a long time ago (early 2011). By that time I had about 6 victories in profiring. And Joshua was an ABA (England Club Boxing Championship) champion. I went to Sheffield as I needed to prepare for the first 10 round fight of my career. And I constantly had problems finding sparring partners.”
According to Price, “Even back then, there was a sense that there was something about Joshua. But anyway, I caught him with my right slap and he fell. He was unable to get to his feet without assistance. He was simply taken out of the ring. At that time, this episode meant nothing to me. And there is no shame in this, I think, no.
Price knows that talking about who and whom he dropped in sparring is bad manners. And for the first time, he remembered that episode for a reason: “I didn’t talk about it until 2016. That was the first time there were talks about my potential fight with Joshua. Many then ridiculed me. I thought I had no chance. And only then, in response, I remembered it. I just wanted to convey to them the idea that Joshua is not invulnerable at all. Then everyone considered him a terminator. Someone who doesn’t feel pain.”
A little later, Price learned that “Joshua spent the night before the sparring at the police station. So it’s a really funny story. Let’s talk about garlic. Fans love stories like this. It’s just another funny story. I know that there is an unwritten rule that everything that happens during sparring must stay in the gym. But it’s a fact, people love these stories. I think there is nothing wrong with sharing them. Share not during training camp, but a little later.”
The other day, Joshua spoke about what motivates him to continue his career. And his potential coach even has a clear plan: “… and then we’ll go to Usyk or Fury.” He also thinks there is no way Joshua can fight Wilder right now.