David Price's stellar Saturday and David Haye's future... Glenn McCrory tackles the big issues.
'Liverpudlian proved his chin and will have the Klitschkos on notice'
David Price impressed me on Saturday - even though his evening's work only lasted 73 seconds!
His bout with John McDermott was expected to be a difficult fight and one where he could have come unstuck, but he passed the test with flying colours.
Price failed to impress me earlier in his career; he was given some hand-picked journeymen opponents and didn't make too much progress.
But the Liverpool man has stepped up in quality in his last three fights - against Raphael Butler, Tom Dallas and McDermott - and is one of the most improved boxers I've seen. That was evident on Saturday when he floored his opponent in a little over a minute.
Price not only showed his punch power against McDermott, he also showed that, contrary to many people's beliefs, he has a strong chin.
There was a 30 or 40 second period when McDermott rushed in and looked for that money punch and hit Price on the chin a few times.
But not only was there no distress on Price's part, he also proceeded to knock McDermott out with a right hand, straight after he got hit with a right hand himself.
Fulfil
With his size and athleticism, obvious comparisons have been made between Price and Lennox Lewis. Lennox was an exceptional talent and won the Olympic gold medal, David is a very good talent and got a bronze.
Therefore, he didn't quite match Lennox in the amateurs and he might not fulfil what Lennox did in the professional ranks but if he comes anywhere close, that won't be too bad.
What Price has in his favour, though, is that the current heavyweight scene is not that strong. When Lennox was about the division was full of such names as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe. Now there are few stars beside the Klitschkos, who no doubt have been alerted to the name David Price.
Price's next bout should be against British heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. It's a fight that both men should want; Price to prove that when he beat Fury in the amateurs it wasn't a fluke and Fury to show how he has evolved as a pro.
At this present moment, I would just favour Price to win that match; he's done it in the amateurs and is making great progress.
Fury, meanwhile, has just dipped a bit after very good start; he beat Dereck Chisora in a messy fight and was then put on the floor in his last contest against Canada's Neven Pajkic before he recorded a technical knockout.
Plus, Fury will be the one under pressure, knowing that one false move and he could lose his title.
Dire
Sticking with the heavyweights and it seems that talks over a proposed fight between David Haye and Vitali Klitschko have stalled. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
I don't think David deserves a shot at Vitali yet following his dire showing against the Ukrainian's brother, Wladimir, in July, when all his pre-bout hype was not backed up with an excellent boxing performance, just complaints about a sore toe.
I'm not sure Haye is contemplating fighting someone else before Vitali but I think he needs to. He has to show the boxing community that he is worthy of such a fight and the public that he is not just in it for the money.
I think he should face a top guy like WBA champion Alexander Povetkin because if he beats him he would then earn a shot against Vitali on merit. He talked his way into the fight with Wladimir and you can't do that twice. I don't think the public will buy it.
David against Vitali is not a fight that gets me particularly excited but I can see why Haye is chasing it. He will get plenty of money for the bout but it also runs deeper than that; it's about pride and where you rank in history.
David Haye has done great things but the way it ended against Wladimir is not the way he wants to go out. All the accolades he has achieved were tarnished by that lame display in Hamburg and David, for his self-esteem, needs to prove himself one last time.
