Friday, March 1, 2013

Heavyweight Tony Thompson Upsets David Price With Second-Round Knockout

Forty-one-year-old American heavyweight veteran Tony Thompson proved that the last thing a boxer loses is usually his power as he knocked out Commonwealth and British Champion David Price in the second round at the Echo Arena in Price’s hometown of Liverpool, England on Feb. 23. The odd thing about the fight was that Thompson hasn’t really been known as a power puncher at any time in his career.

The 6-foot-5-inch Thompson caught the 6-foot-8 Price with a right hook to the side of the head which caused him to lose his equilibrium. Price fell to the canvas and managed to get to his feet before referee Steve Gray reached the count of 10, but he was on wobbly legs and Gray put an end to the fight right then and there before the bout was six minutes old

Thompson saw his record rise to 37-3 with 25 Kos with the win while the 29-year-old Price suffered his first defeat as a pro and dropped to 15-1 with 13 Kos. Most insiders figured that Price, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, would easily beat the aging Thompson on his way to a world title shot.

After the bout, Price said the punch perforated his eardrum and it scrambled his senses. He said it wasn’t the end of the world though and he’s anxious to get back in the ring to continue his career. He also added that the loss could actually be the best thing that happened to him because he’ll start training harder than ever and work on how to protect himself better.

Price’s manager Frank Maloney said he won’t ask Thomson for a rematch and will let the veteran enjoy the victory even though there was a rematch clause in the contract. It’s not clear where Thompson goes from here though since he’s already had two cracks at Wladimir’s Klitschko’s title belt and was stopped in both attempts. It’s doubtful that the public would buy tickets for a third match and it would be hard to find a television network to broadcast one.

Thompson said he wouldn’t mind facing another Englishman, the 6-foot-9 Tyson Fury, and that fight could take place before the year is out. But the undefeated Fury would first have to get past American Steve Cunningham when the two meet in April. Thompson said he wasn’t surprised that he knocked Price out, but if the punch had caught his opponent on the jaw it might not have had the same affect.

Price started the fight cautiously against the southpaw Thompson though while Thompson stayed away from the Briton’s reach. When the second round got underway Price pressed the attack and a flurry of punches had Thompson trapped in his corner, but he didn’t get caught with anything solid. Thompson then landed the knockout blow and that was all she wrote. The official time of the stoppage was 2:17 of the second round.

Thompson said he was grossly underpaid for the fight and claimed he wouldn’t return to England for a rematch even if Price asked for one. But don’t be surprised to see one scheduled some time down the road in the U.S.

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