Former two-time World champion Ricky Hatton believes David Price can still obtain a World title of his own if – and pointed to British boxing icon Frank Bruno as an example to follow.
The ‘Hitman’, has seen first hand the ability and skill-set Price still possesses after a recent sparring session between the powerhouse and Hatton’s rising heavyweight talent Nathan Gorman – who has also been tipped for a bright future in years to come.
As Gorman continues to climb the ladder of the current heavyweight division, Price is looking to halt a steady decline. An Olympic bronze medalist in his amateur days, Price has suffered a series of crushing defeats in his professional career – which has now left the one time heavyweight hopeful possibly one defeat away from oblivion.
However, Hatton believes he has seen enough in those sparring sessions with the aforementioned Gorman to give him enough confidence that Price can one day be a heavyweight king.
“Nathan has just done six rounds with David Price and it was brilliant”, he told Sky Sports News.
“David has got such massive ability, massive punching power, you can’t tell me he’s not capable of knocking out any heavyweight out there. He’s had a bit of a bad run, but he can’t lose that faith”.
One thing the boxing world has always been aware of is the power that Price possesses. On his day, the 35-year-old could take out any heavyweight with a single shot.
Despite losing to Povetkin in his last bout, he forced the referee to give the Russian a standing eight count – sparing him from a barrage of punches from Price and possible defeat. It was in that moment, Price brought a tinge of hope to a country that would love to see him end his career in a flourish. Unfortunately for the giant scouser he was knocked out in the fifth round and hasn’t fought since.
Hatton continued to discuss Price’s position and drew on Frank Bruno and his perseverance before eventually being crowned a World champion.
“He’s had a few defeats along the way, but as I just said to him, the best inspiration he can use for those defeats is to look at our Frank Bruno.” Hatton added.
“He got beat by [James] ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith, he got beat by [Tim] Witherspoon, got beat by [Mike] Tyson, but he got there in the end, so never lose faith in it”.
Price will enter the ring on Saturday night with Sergey Kuzmin, a recently turned professional who has an extensive amateur background – and who despite being 31-years-old, is still considered a prospect due to only having twelve professional contests.
A win for Price would see him catapulted into contention in the heavyweight division. However, another devastating defeat could well spell the end for the affable Liverpudlian.