David Price has teamed up with new coach David Coldwell as the former British and Commonwealth Champion looks to get his promising career back on track.
A revitalised Price, who will be training with Coldwell at his Rotherham gym as he prepares for his ring return, believes he has found the right man to get him back to his devastating best.
‘’This is a really good move for me,’’ says Price. ‘’Dave has done everything there is to do in the sport, but I think his strongest asset is his training skills. I’ve been working with him for a couple of weeks now and I’m already starting to see the results in the gym
’’Every trainer out there has their own strengths and talents, but as a fighter, the most important thing is to find someone you gel with. I’ve worked with Dave before, so that relationship is already there.
‘’He’s someone who’s not got to try to bombard me or rush me to become something that I’m not use to being straight away. He’s happy to accept that it’s going to take some time to iron out the faults I have in my game, and that’s the key. When we start to see the results we’re looking for in the gym we can start transferring them over to the ring.
‘’For me, it’s about having a trainer who can bring the best out in you, and I think Dave is the man to do that. He’s got a winning formula going and a great stable of boxers with Tony Bellew and the McDonnell twins, who are doing great things at the moment.’’
With Coldwell in his corner, the 32 year-old heavyweight is optimistic about his future as he looks to re-establish himself on the World scene.
‘’This is a fresh start for me, and a start of a new chapter in my career,’’ said Price. ‘’There have been fighters in the past who have made moves like this and it’s reignited their careers, and hopefully it will be the same for me.
‘’It sounds like a cliché but I need to take each fight as it comes, and I know that if I do and I perform to my ability, there are plenty of big fights out there for me. It’s an exciting time to be a heavyweight and I need to do everything I can to get back in the mix, but first and foremost, I need to prove my worth again.
‘’In this sport, people judge you on your last fight, but I know I’m better than my last performance, I’m better than my best performance, I just need to bring that out. It won’t take me long, a couple of good wins and I’ll be back, but I need to look good doing it. I need to be explosive and I need to be knocking people out, and that’s my intention.’’
Coldwell has been impressed with what he has seen so far, as he begins the process of fine-tuning the former Olympic Bronze medalist. ‘’I’ve known Pricey for a long time, and on a personal level we’ve always got on, which is important when you’re training a fighter, but I wanted to make sure he was coming back for the right reasons,’’ said Coldwell. ‘’We spoke on the phone and then agreed to have a trial session, and it just clicked.
‘’Of course, there are some changes that need to be made and we need to bring the feel good factor back to his boxing, but if I look at his potential and the improvements he has already made, there is no doubt, that he can still make a big impact on the heavyweight division.
‘’One thing Pricey has got is 100% destructive heavyweight power. He can knock anyone out, and when you’ve got that sort of power, you can never say never. A lot people want to write him off, but when you can put people to sleep like that you are always going to be dangerous.’’
Promoter Nisse Sauerland is pleased with Coldwell’s appointment, and with a new man in his corner, believes Price can live up to his potential. ‘’I’ve been a long time admirer of Dave’s work, and I believe he is the right man to bring out the best in Pricey,’’ said Sauerland.
”Recently, he has been doing a great job with Bellew and the McDonnells, who are all competing at World-level, and I’m sure it is only a matter of time before Price joins them. The heavyweight scene is thriving at the moment, and we believe Pricey still has a big part to play in this.’’
