Price vs Thompson February

Good fight this one for Price against a guy who challenged Wladimir in his last fight and by no means an easy nights work.

As fury and price careers are steering at some point in the future (hopefully) then this should be classed as a better opponent than Kingpin. As stated thompson's last fight was against wlad. If price does a convincing job will his status be higher than furys?

Will be a tough nights work though and Thompson will not be turning up to survive he will be looking to get himself back in contention. This fight is a big jump up and Price might find this blows up in his face. If he does win though he will well on the way to a title shot, Thompson is not just a punchbag with eyes like the useless Kingpin so this would be a huge win.

I thought Thompson looked kinda shot in his last fight with Wlad, although that punch in the fifth round he took would probably end anyones career. It's a good opponent for Price, he's not facing a guy with that much power but Thompson is tough to find, has a decent chin, is a southpaw and has plenty of top level experience. Price KO 9.

Rich1066 wrote:As fury and price careers are steering at some point in the future (hopefully) then this should be classed as a better opponent than Kingpin. As stated thompson's last fight was against wlad. If price does a convincing job will his status be higher than furys?

have to wait to see who fury fights next and then compare the two.

A great choice and so soon after wlad fought Thompson we should actually get a decent yard stick. Its just the sort of fight he needs at this stage. To be fair there will be plenty saying that Thompson is past it if price puts in a good display but if he fought someone like pulev and won well people would be saying pulev was over rated.

I'd like to see fury fight either boystov or arreola next.

The coming twelve months are going to be interesting times in the heavyweight division as people tussle for places in line of the k bros

Another ancient 40 something opponent? If this is supposed to be the next big thing in boxing my God boxing is surely on the way out.

Who would you have price box then?

spencerclarke wrote:Who would you have price box then?

Even though I don't rate Thompson I think that it is the right fight. Even though Thompson is 41 and a limited fighter who should pose no real threat he is such a step up in quality for Price because lets face it Price has fought absolute bums.

If Price beats Thompson then hopefully he starts challenging people in the top 4-7 in the rankings.

Gordy wrote:Another ancient 40 something opponent? If this is supposed to be the next big thing in boxing my God boxing is surely on the way out.

This is Price's 16th fight.

Lennox Lewis faught Mike Weaver in his 16th fight, 35-15-1, age 40.

I think its an ok-ish fight but really dont think Thompson is either looking to get back into contention at this stage and on his last showing didnt look to be amongst the better fighters in the division. Id have liked to see a fresher opponent or someone on the way up rather than the way down.

spencerclarke wrote:The coming twelve months are going to be interesting times in the heavyweight division as people tussle for places in line of the k bros

It is only Vitali who is probably maybe going to retire, and once he does I would expect Wlad to take on whoever wins the vacant WBC title and then remain undisputed champion for another five years or so.

Yeah sorry I meant more jossling to get in to a position for the number one contender spot to face them

Union Cane wrote:

spencerclarke wrote:The coming twelve months are going to be interesting times in the heavyweight division as people tussle for places in line of the k bros

It is only Vitali who is probably maybe going to retire, and once he does I would expect Wlad to take on whoever wins the vacant WBC title and then remain undisputed champion for another five years or so.

He may win it, but will be made to vacate one of the titles pretty quick as the different belts never agree on an opponent. My bet would be on vacating or not fighting for the WBC due to politics, which, thanks to Gordy's in sight, we now know is corrupt in the Ukranian so it is all K2s fault in advance

He should vacate all of his belts, and then set about winning them all back from the plethora of paper champions that would ensue.

Or do a Mayweather. Forget about belts all together and fight who you believe is the biggest test / best money spinner. Everyone knows that Wlad is the best heavyweight out there, so he doesn't need a belt as validation

Its funny how people slate Price for his opponents, but yet Fury's are no better.

Maddalonne? Rogan?? Kingpin Johnson?

Whats even worse is that Fury is somehow convinced that Johnson IS the number one heavyweight in the whole of America and is ranked in the top 5 by all boxing organisations.

Where does he get fed this Poopie from??

He needs to fight Wilder next and then, once Price KO's him, all these bandwagonning bellends can shut up about both Wilder and the massively over-rated Seth Mitchell at the same bleedin' time.

I think Fury gets more criticism over his opponents than Price to be fair. Price is moving steadily up in quality, which is the right thing to do to gain experience. Fury fought Chisora and then took a significant step backwards for his next two fights. He looks to have ducked Price, vacating the British belt to fight for the Irish belt. All these decisions were derided at the time by most on here, me included and for good reasons. So, no, Fury is not immune from criticism of his choice of opponents as MM suggests.

Not sure why Fury and Price always have to mentioned alongside each other! Both fighters have their fans and critics on here. People might say Thompson is coming off a world title challenge but in reality he did little to earn it other than go through the IBFs soft mandatory system. It was a rematch nobody apart from Thompson wanted. I don’t think he beat anyone in the last few years to really make anyone sit up and notice and his performance against Wlad combined with his age doesn’t really offer much hope. I cant possibly imagine we are ever going to see Wlad v Thompson 3 and I would guess Thompson himself knows this. Price is really raiding the old folks home at this stage and while Thompson is a step up for him, I would prefer somebody that’s not on the downward spiral. I don’t think Thompson is a particularly ambitious fight, and the fact he is coming off a world title fight kind of papers over this. Id like to see the younger guns fight it out amongst themselves a bit more. Pulev for instance is being ambitious in his fights of late.

Anyone know if Michael Sprott has been sent an email to see if he's interested?

Good match-up, positions him well in the psychological 'CV' battle with Fury as it's better than anything Fury's fought and better than the one name Tyson had at the same stage in his career (i.e. 16 fights) in Chisora.

Will provide an element of challenge and and element of 'name' whilst also having the potential upside of looking extra good if he puts him away quicker than Wlad did. As long as he keeps on the same course, and not drop off a cliff a la 'bigger and better things' Fury, then I can't see much wrong with this fight.

If Price puts him away quicker than Wlad it's, "Wlad ruined him already" if he takes longer, he goes back to being an over-rated bum.

Shame rally cos I like Price and think the stick he gets is very unfair

I think that a good idea in the game of one-upmanship that Fury and Price seem to be playing would be to fight each other so the winner can at last have a legitmate claim to be the better of the two, it's old fashioned but I think it could work and hopefully it might catch on.

bellchees wrote:I think that a good idea in the game of one-upmanship that Fury and Price seem to be playing would be to fight each other so the winner can at last have a legitmate claim to be the better of the two, it's old fashioned but I think it could work and hopefully it might catch on.

Not gonna happen if Team Fury keeping avoiding purse bids....

Two boxers fight each other in order to figure out which one of them is best?

Is it too late to change the votes for WUM of the year?

Am I the only one who thinks both Fury and Price are moving in the right direction with their fights over Johnson and Thompson? Both are around the 15-20 fight zone and have taken/are taking on a couple of fringe world level fighters. If the next fight for them both is a step backwards then they should be in for a bit of stick - but as it is they're doing alright.

They're two decent prospects - that's about it. Seems strange that everyone is so desperate to sh!t on one, or both, of them just before they look to be stepping up to a higher level.

It's not as if they're doing a cleverly and holding a title to ransom by fighting nobodies. They are both progressing.

For the record, I think Price has what it takes to be a HW force (in this era). Fury - I'm not so sure.

My take is that Fury has been improving more, but was coming from a lower point. When you consider what he was like a couple of years ago as a fat guy struggling with McDermott to the leaner more developed version now he has come on quite well. I think he needed to be matched a bit more cautiously while Price has looked better for me in blasting out pretty faded fighters so Id like to see him tested by a more youthful fighter and maybe matched more ambitiously because I think he needs it more. I really am not sure that Thompson offers enough in this regard. Maloney was on about that if Price is not world champ by the end of the year he will have failed. As he doesn’t seem to be in position with the WBC that only means Wlad as the option. I think he needs tougher fights than Thompson to prepare for that although realistically Id be surprised if Price does get in with Wlad never mind beat him within the next 12 months.

Wlad's team will undoubtedly be aware that the USA is A/ Not interested in the HW division as B/ They aren't in a position to be challenging for any titles. The K's also know that the UK are about the only other country who still have relatively credible challengers and, more importantly, an audience who will pay for the privilege of watching one of their own battle for the biggest prize in sport.

Therefore, I predict that it won't be long before they offer either Price or Fury a shot at the title because they know that in a few years, Wlad will quite possibly be past his peak and either Fury or Price will (hopefully) have gained enough experience to mount a serious challenge so they will want to nullify that threat before it emerges fully.

My only issue with that will be having to listen to Hennessey and Maloney bleating on about how they worked tirelessly to secure their man a well deserved/long overdue shot.

Boxtthis wrote:Am I the only one who thinks both Fury and Price are moving in the right direction with their fights over Johnson and Thompson? Both are around the 15-20 fight zone and have taken/are taking on a couple of fringe world level fighters. If the next fight for them both is a step backwards then they should be in for a bit of stick - but as it is they're doing alright.

Problem with this is Price is at the 15 fight zone and Fury is at the 20 fight zone. Which are two different things, in my opinion. And is part of the reason I think people are overly generous to Fury when comparing their records on a 'pick 5 best opponenents' basis. It's sample bias.

Well, if Fury was to stop fighting and Price had another five fights, would it not be realistic to suggest that Price's level of oppostion would improve to such a degree as to render Fury's laughable thus proving conclusively that Price is better than Fury and will beat him every day of the week (and all this without having to add the all important "PHACKT!" thus rendering any comebacks moot and futile)

DAVE667 wrote:I predict that it won't be long before they offer either Price or Fury a shot at the title because they know that in a few years, Wlad will quite possibly be past his peak and either Fury or Price will (hopefully) have gained enough experience to mount a serious challenge so they will want to nullify that threat before it emerges fully.

Sadly, I expect this too. In this ultra-weak HW era, the moment any HW shows promise they get elevated to contender status and fed to the Klitschkos.

Take 'em out early in their career and then after they've spent some time on the comeback trail you can say, "Already beat this guy, what's the point in us fighting again?" They beg and pleased for a fight and ultimately end up making massive concessions and you are left laughing all the way to the bank.

Cynical? You bet your left nut, I am!!!!!!!

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Problem with this is Price is at the 15 fight zone and Fury is at the 20 fight zone. Which are two different things, in my opinion. And is part of the reason I think people are overly generous to Fury when comparing their records on a 'pick 5 best opponenents' basis. It's sample bias.

A fair point if you're seeking to compare Fury to Price. I wasn't. I was just saying that I was stuck by how derogatory many people seem to be either towards one or both fighters - when in actual fact, they're both progressing at a reasonable rate and should be ready to take big steps up relatively soon.

TopHat24/7 wrote:Problem with this is Price is at the 15 fight zone and Fury is at the 20 fight zone. Which are two different things, in my opinion. And is part of the reason I think people are overly generous to Fury when comparing their records on a 'pick 5 best opponenents' basis. It's sample bias.

You don't half come out with some cobblers mate.

That doesnt bear scrutiny dave - anyone whose gotten to number 1 mandatory has been dealt with by Wlad so If he knocked out price and fury now and then they both fought their way back to the number 1 mandatory position - history suggests they'll take the fight again.

Come on Shah, read the rest of it....

"They beg and pleased for a fight and ultimately end up making massive concessions and you are left laughing all the way to the bank."

You seem to forget it's been proven (ironically without anyone producing anything that looks like evidence) that the K's offer slave contracts

DAVE667 wrote:Take 'em out early in their career and then after they've spent some time on the comeback trail you can say, "Already beat this guy, what's the point in us fighting again?" They beg and pleased for a fight and ultimately end up making massive concessions and you are left laughing all the way to the bank.

Cynical? You bet your left nut, I am!!!!!!!

It's a good scam they've got going. It's helped by the fact that they can take unready challengers out at twice the rate - because, even though they are two different people, how often do you hear fans clamoring for a fighter that has just been beaten by one brother to fight the other? Challengers beaten by one Klitschko tend to fall off the map (e.g. Johnson, Arreola, Sosnowski, etc).

It's also helped by the fact that they're better than everyone else anyway. But, still, they set themselves up with all the advantages.

If you get a free shot then you sign or urine off - don't bitch about - if you earn your fight through the mandatories (an easy task if you are as good as price) You don't get a slave contract you get a good payday and dont get tied up with them.

Sorry dave. I finished at 5am when I was due to finish at 11 last night, my head is aching - couldn't catch the obvious.

ShahenshahG wrote:Sorry dave. I finished at 5am when I was due to finish at 11 last night, my head is aching - couldn't catch the obvious.

I take it that Wladimir and Vitali personally wrote out your work contract then, Shah?

88Chris05 wrote:

ShahenshahG wrote:Sorry dave. I finished at 5am when I was due to finish at 11 last night, my head is aching - couldn't catch the obvious.

I take it that Wladimir and Vitali personally wrote out your work contract then, Shah?

Yeah. Vitali caused the hard drives to corrupt merely with his presence and wlad spent all night jabbing at the pc hoping it would work.

bar stewards

great fight for price, should provide price with a fairly decent test, hopefully even push him 12 rounds, something missing from his game so far. however i think price should look for a ko, make a statement. he (thompson) is aging but 40 isnt that old for a heavy, also apart from wlad tonys cv is very average, ibragimov his best win. more of a calculated risk than johnson was (who on paper should have been a tougher fight), but very much in the right direction.

Union Cane wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:Problem with this is Price is at the 15 fight zone and Fury is at the 20 fight zone. Which are two different things, in my opinion. And is part of the reason I think people are overly generous to Fury when comparing their records on a 'pick 5 best opponenents' basis. It's sample bias.

You don't half come out with some cobblers mate.

Haha come'on Union, a stats geek like you must understand the concept of sample bias. As long as you do, nothing in my post is inaccurate. Although I accept that the difference between a 20 fight fighter and a 15 fight fighter is a purely subjective opinion.

You can't compare Ali with Lennox Lewis because Lennox only had 44 fights and Ali had 61.

eddyfightfan wrote:great fight for price, should provide price with a fairly decent test, hopefully even push him 12 rounds, something missing from his game so far. however i think price should look for a ko, make a statement. he (thompson) is aging but 40 isnt that old for a heavy, also apart from wlad tonys cv is very average, ibragimov his best win. more of a calculated risk than johnson was (who on paper should have been a tougher fight), but very much in the right direction.

World #2 and WBC champ Vitali is 41, I'm sure age would all but disappear as an issue if he were Price's next opponent. As I'm sure Hopkins and his ilk would say, "age is just a number".

Union Cane wrote:You can't compare Ali with Lennox Lewis because Lennox only had 44 fights and Ali had 61.

You can because they are from their overall careers. You are comparing two completed careers. That's fine. But comparing two up and coming fighters in the first third/half of their career then the size of the sample is an important factor.

Fighters develop at different rates though. Price is 5 years older, should we wait until Fury is 29 and then make the comparison? Or shall we twist things to show Price in a better light?