DAVID PRICE

The big Liverpudlian meets another Russian dangerman on the undercard

‘POVETKIN HAS GOOD PUNCH VARIETY AND HAND SPEED, BUT JOSHUA CAN OVERPOWER HIM’

DAVID PRICE returns to an Anthony Joshua undercard and once again boxes a dangerous Russian opponent. In Cardiff in March, the Liverpool heavyweight lost to Alexander Povetkin, who now fights Joshua in the main event at Wembley Stadium on Saturday (September 22). Price will fight the 12-0 Sergey Kuzmin [inset] further down the bill.

What do you think of the Kuzmin fight?

He’s obviously well-schooled. He seems very strong.

Style-wise he likes to go to the body, mix things up a little bit. He’s an ex-european champion. A good standard of opposition for me. But he hasn’t fought for a year. I think his career’s been a bit stop-start since he turned pro, for whatever reason. My plan is to come in and be the banana skin and make him slip up.

The fight is potentially worth a hell of a lot to me if I win. If I can’t find within myself 10 rounds for one night only. I know it’s there. It’s in the tank.

It’s definitely a winnable fight. I’m excited… I’ve lost five times already. One more loss isn’t going to hurt, if I lose.

Upsets happen. My plan is to Tony Thompson this fella, the way Tony Thompson Thompson’ed me.

He’s a similar style to Povetkin, in a way. But his hands are slower. When you can see the shots coming, you can prepare a little bit and brace for them. Take them that little bit better, catch them. What got me with Povetkin was the speed of his hands and me trying to beat him to the punch. So it’s a different type of fight but also similar in a way. I fancy the job big time.

I’m going to be letting bombs go myself.

Where do you think you’ll go from a victory?

I don’t know but it’ll be something good… At every level there’s good fights.

It’s thrown back a little bit to the mid ‘90s where good fighters are getting in good 10 round fights.

Although he’s not highly ranked, it’ll open the door for something good. If Povetkin lost to Joshua and he wanted to carry on boxing, I’d want to fight Povetkin again. I’d love to fight Povetkin if I beat Kuzmin. Or if Joshua lost to Povetkin. I’d want a rematch with Povetkin.

What’s your view on the main event; you’ve boxed Povetkin and been in the ring with Joshua (in sparring)?

I just think it’s going to be a much better fight than people are anticipating. I don’t know whether the novelty of Anthony Joshua is wearing off a little bit on people. Because when he became heavyweight champion, obviously Tyson Fury had done it in Germany but Joshua was the posterboy. I think the excitement – we hadn’t seen this type of thing for years. But there just doesn’t seem to be the same buzz about this fight. If it’s because people don’t think Alexander Povetkin is a good opponent, then that’s wrong, because he is.

It’s going to be an interesting fight, especially going into the second half of the fight. I think that Joshua will take over and overpower Povetkin. I think early on it’s going to be cagey. There’s going to be some big shots landing from both.

What makes Povetkin such a dangerous fighter?

I think his punch variety is good. His hand speed was what beat me. But I think Joshua can match his hand speed. His judgement of distance is good. He’s got better feet than he’s given credit for, his footwork’s good. His experience as well and his pedigree, he’s done a hell of a lot in his career and this is his last roll of the dice. He’s going to be highly motivated. So he’s got all that going in his favour. I feel like if Povetkin won I’d be vindicated a little bit. It’s a very selfish sport, boxing. If Povetkin was to beat Anthony Joshua, my defeat to him wouldn’t look as bad. How much are you looking forward to fighting at Wembley? It’s brilliant. The thing that got me buzzing most [in Cardiff] was the fight week buildup. The big fight feeling. I hadn’t had that for a long time and I’d never had it at that scale. The people make the event… That’s what gave me a real buzz. To be going straight back into that type of thing, that’s exciting me. Obviously fighting in the middle of the pitch at Wembley, it’s one to tell my grandkids. It’s a great opportunity and it’s a massive sporting event. The Anthony Joshua phenomenon, we should all enjoy it while it lasts. I can’t really see it ever happening again on this scale in our lifetime. It’s like cup final day when he’s fighting. All though there’s a lot of people there, the atmosphere’s weird because everyone’s far away from the ring. Whereas fighting in York Hall they’re on top of you, it’s more of a bear pit. I’m just going to enjoy it. I’m going to be walking in with a smile on face and do what I do best, but hopefully win this time. You will get an exciting fight, one way or another. For the casual fans that’s what they want to see. With the Joshua-povetkin one, it may turn out to be a cagey affair like the Parker-joshua one. But me and Kuzmin, our styles will gel. I’m going to be going in gunslinging. The good, the bad and the ugly.