• Heavyweight

Price: Fight with Fury is going to happen

ESPN staff
December 6, 2012

David Price claimed on Thursday he would have succeeded where Tyson Fury failed by finishing Kevin Johnson last weekend, and the Brit insisted a showdown with Fury "is going to happen".

Price and Fury delivered contrasting performances over the weekend, with the former stopping Matt Skelton in two rounds, while the latter limped to a decision victory over Johnson that drew boos from the crowd.

As two rising British heavyweights, there is growing clamour for Price and Fury to step into the same ring. The pair have exchanged verbal barbs, and Price is convinced negotiations will take place in order to make the bout become a reality.

"It's going to happen - it's got to happen," Price told Sky Sports' Ringside programme. "Everyone deserves the fight to happen, not least me and Tyson Fury so hopefully we can get something sorted and get the fight made.

"There are a lot of political issues - things getting said back and forth. If the fight is going to get made, hopefully somebody can get in touch and then, obviously, I believe I'll be the better man on the night."

Fury's victory puts him on course for a shot at Vitali Klitschko's WBC title, so Price may have to bide his time to get to the 24-year-old. But assessing Fury's lacklustre win over Johnson, the Liverpudlian is convinced he would have stopped it.

"He (Fury) showed improvements technically but Kevin Johnson came in with a sparring partner's mentality. You could go all night at the pace that the fight was fought.

"But still, Fury got the job done. Johnson got in and just survived really - that's how he fights. I'd have tried a bit harder to get the job done earlier but if I'd realised that I couldn't get him out of there, then I would have stuck to my boxing. But I think I would be able to get Kevin Johnson out of there."

Reflecting on his own triumph over Skelton, Price said: "When I hit his head I realised it was a hard head and I was going to end up hurting my hands so I thought I'll go downstairs and see if he can take it downstairs and luckily for me he couldn't."

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