Wrong to discount a second Tony Thompson win over David Price

Liverpool’s David Price has a shot at redemption as he meets February conqueror Tony Thompson in a bid to avenge the second round stoppage defeat that put his world title ambitions on ice. Price is a short-ish favourite for revenge, but given the home fighter’s limited experience, the American may not roll over as the script dictates.

In the immediate aftermath of the shocking defeat that cost Price his unblemished record, he was at a loss to explain how it had happened. Yet with the benefit of water under the bridge, the scouser has come to realise that he was highly complacent ahead of the fight, telling the Daily Mail: “I started to get it into my head he was an old man and then he got on the scales and was career heaviest and that was where the complacency comes in.”

With the benefit of that perspective, the Liverpool heavyweight has spoken of a complete change in his mentality towards the noble art and an enhanced professionalism allied to a right hand like Thor’s hammer could make him a far more formidable foe for Thompson in their second meeting.

Yet the effect of his enhanced respect for the fight game will have to be taken on trust until a superior performance against Thompson has been witnessed. His American challenger – who is reportedly in far better condition ahead of the rematch – has been beaten just three times during a 39-bout career and should prove a tough nut to crack regardless.

One of those losses was a four-round decision reverse deep in the mists of time and both his more recent stoppage defeats came at world title level, both to Wladimir Klitschko. In the eight matches either side of those disappointments, his hard hands have been evident to anyone thumbing through the results page of the sports section, with every one of those victories coming by way of KO and seven of them coming before the sixth.

Price – as we know – is an equally adept knockout artist, having taken out all bar one of his 14 victims well inside the distance, but this comes with its own associated problems for a fighter still looking to gain experience.

Aside from that six-round decision win over the at-the-time 16-27-0 Daniil Peretyatko, just one of his victories has taken longer than four rounds to construct, meaning the Frank Maloney fighter has little experience of boxing to a victory against an opponent who won’t be quickly overwhelmed by his power.

Thompson has shown himself to be a dangerous puncher with enough durability to resist all but the best of the big men in recent years – Wladimir Klitschko needed 11 rounds to halt his hopes  in one of those bouts– and shouldn’t be discounted against his less experienced foe as the 5/2 underdog.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.