By Andy Clark
Pro Boxing Insider was ringside at The Echo Arena, Liverpool, for the second time in five months, to watch the much anticipated rematch between Tony Thompson & David Price. The fight was billed as “Redemption or Repeat,” and it was a repeat TKO stoppage win for Thompson, in what was an exciting fight on Merseyside.
From the get go you could clearly see Price wasn’t right. He hardly threw a single jab the entire fight. At times Price seemed like a deer in the headlights and appeared to forget everything he worked on in the gym with new advisor Lennox Lewis. Thompson started the fight quicker and probably sensed Price wasn’t quite right. Thompson landed the cleaner, more effective shots in round one.
Price started round two with bad intentions but threw mainly one punch at a time. Thompson did find some success in the second as Price was unable to keep Thompson at arms reach. Price landed some bombs in the final minute of the second round, before throwing Thompson to the floor. As Thompson got up, Price bombarded Thompson with shots and landed a crushing right hand which put Thompson down. Thompson looked hurt but somehow made it to his feet and saw out the final few seconds of the round.
Round three started like the previous round finished. Price came out at a furious pace, throwing a lot of wild punches without finding the same success and as the round came to a close, Thompson landed some heavy body shots. Price was visibly tired at the end of round three and this gave Thompson huge confidence.
Thompson started the fourth targeting Price’s body, whilst switching upstairs to land a few quality shots through Price’s virtually non-existent defence. Price tried to answer back at times, but could only manage the odd wild hook or straight right hand, which Thompson generally saw coming a mile off. Price evidenced some of the footwork he had apparently been working on in the gym, but Price was visibly shattered and Thompson ended the round, really bringing the hurt to Price as Thompson connected with some heavy shots to body and head. Price slumped back into his corner at the end of round four.
Round five began with Price trying to stay out of range at all costs, but Thompson managed to close the gap with two minutes remaining. Thompson landed time and time again as he forced Price against the ropes and into the corner. Price slumped over the ropes, as Thompson pummeled away at an exhausted Price. The referee controversially gave Price a standing eight count but it was clear for all to see that Price was gone. The referee called an end to the fight with just over a minute left of the fifth round.
You could hear a pin drop in the Echo Arena, until Thompson, like five months ago, launched another outburst towards press row. Thompson was of course, ecstatic and gave one of the funniest post fight interviews in recent memory, challenging Tyson Fury once again and spent the rest of the interview describing how he was planning on “breaking my wifes hip. I aint had sex with her for a while so shes going to feel the pain.” If you get chance, you should check out the whole interview.
David Price on the other hand, faces an incredibly long road back. Price’s fitness levels were pathetic and his defence virtually non-existent, not to mention the fact he hardly threw a jab all night. Frank Maloney, Price’s promoter, was visibly upset after the fight and questioned whether he would even continue to promote going forward.
