Former heavyweight fighter (over 90.7 kg) Briton David Price gave
interview for local media.
In a conversation with a journalist, David discussed the future fight of former British champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) against American Jermain Franklin (21-0, 14 KOs), which is scheduled for April 1 in the UK. Price also expressed his opinion about the new coach Joshua Derrick James and commented on the fight for the title of absolute division champion between the unified champion from Ukraine Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) and the WBC title holder Briton Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs). ).
– What will be your predictions for the Joshua-Franklin fight, because many people expect Joshua to look good and take an early victory?
“I also believe in it. After the fight with Ruiz, he could only stop Pulev. He did really well in that fight. I think he performed well in all his fights, especially in the second fight with Usyk. People say Usyk had a bad performance in the first fight and Usyk has a fantastic performance. But Joshua performs at a high level and constantly. This fight will be a walk in the park, but he just doesn’t need to relax because anything can happen in boxing. We saw him say that his motivation is money. Money is a motivation in itself. But one situation, when you have no money, and when you have mountains of money, is that really a motivation? But who knows what goes on in Joshua’s head. To be honest, I feel like Joshua is carrying the weight of his grievances because of his problems. He wants to prove himself right. He seems to be angry from constant criticism in his direction. Because he was the golden boy. People doubt him because he lost twice to the likes of Usyk. And he kind of wants to prove them wrong. It will be good to see a new version of it.
– You mentioned a new version of Joshua, many people want to see him the way he was before Klitschko, before Ruiz – more aggressive, knocking out his opponents, going forward, throwing his combinations very well, something that we have not seen lately. We saw that he is now working with Derrick James. Do you think Derrick can make him his puncher again?
– Yes. I don’t see why it can’t. The only difference is that he has already been knocked out. This style of boxing is gone. He remembers what happened in the first fight with Ruiz. It could take away that kind of killer instinct from him. People after this are not that shy, they become more cautious, because they are afraid to go forward. Like Wladimir Klitschko. If you watch his early fights, he was a killing machine. Incredible explosive puncher. And he kept his career going until he was stopped several times. Then he changed. Joshua can take this approach and focus entirely on results. I know it’s cool to watch him knock out, but the reality is that you’ve reached a certain level and you can’t keep doing it because you’re not fighting some Italians on the O2 or those who were at the beginning of your career. You are already fighting experienced world-class qualified heavyweights. When you throw a deuce – they know what will happen after. They take a little to the left, a little to the right, they are actively working to thwart your attack. It’s not as easy as it used to be. I don’t think we’ll ever see the old Joshua again because it’s a different time and a different situation. He was very close to winning with Usyk and that’s why I think this is his theme. I think he just needs to focus on his boxing. He can win fights with his jab, like he did his second fight against Ruiz. Everything was focused on results. But it won’t look fantastic anymore. One conclusion that I came to at the end of my career is that instead of looking great and exciting and everything else, you need to take the rounds, win the fights. Hitting and not missing back is the name of this game.
“He wears down Fury.” Glazkov – about sparring with Usyk, fights with Joshua and the future
– We are waiting for the announcement of the duel Fury – Usyk. Are you surprised it hasn’t been announced yet?
– Not surprised. This is a huge fight. This fight is like Mayweather – Pacquiao. Not far from him. This is the first fight for the absolute champion in many years. It will not be organized overnight. This will take a long time. We need to be patient and hopefully the wait will be worth it.
– Many people see Tyson as the favorite. He knows how to use his size and reach to his advantage. I don’t want to discredit Oleksandr Usyk on talent, but we know how good Tyson is.
– Yes. I think I have an opinion like most because he uses his height and reach brilliantly. I will not say that he is a more skilled boxer than Usyk, because one can argue here. I’m just judging by the fight. They probably have the same engine, they both probably have similar boxing skills, but one thing that speaks in Fury’s favor is size. Being big, big heavyweight, using your size to your advantage. He knows how to use fighting tricks to his advantage, fighting a little dirty, which Usyk can’t. I said earlier that Usyk came from Olympic boxing where you can’t see this kind of thing. This does not discredit Usyk, because we all know how good he is. But I’m just looking at it from a logical point of view. A big good fighter will beat a small good fighter. As the old story goes, the old cliché. I think people look at it that way.