Alexander Povetkin vs. David Price Fight Preview and Prediction to Win
When: March 31, 2018
Where: Principality Stadium Cardiff, Wales
TV: Showtime
Weight Class: Heavyweight
By Loot, Boxing Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Alexander Povetkin, 33-1 (23 KOs), Kursk, Russia
Vs.
David Price, 22-3 (18 KOs), Liverpool, England
Betting Odds: Alexander Povetkin (-1875), David Price (+1050)
Alexander Povetkin and David Price will battle it out in a matchup of heavyweights on March 31, the co-feature under the Joshua-Parker unification bout. Just the fact that it's the main undercard bout of that mammoth heavyweight fight suggests the winner of this bout could be in store for some big things. Both are former Olympic medal winners, with Povetkin winning the gold in 2004, while Price captured bronze in 2008. Their pro careers have taken different courses. Povetkin has scored some big wins and won some belts, with his only loss a decision-defeat to the signature big man of his era in Wladimir Klitschko. Price, meanwhile, has seen a career that many felt had promise go a bit sideways after some setbacks. Who can get the upper-hand in this bout?
Price, 34, certainly looked the part coming out of the Olympics after representing England. After a nice amateur record where he got a medal in the 2008 games, many fancied the professional prospects of the hard-hitting six-foot-eight giant. And through 15 fights, everything seemed in order. He was knocking guys out, eventually raising the level of opponent. He demolished some respected domestic talent in England and was on the precipice before things started to go wrong. A pair of fights with capable American contender Tony Thompson went south, with Price absorbing a pair of TKO defeats at the hands of the experienced, but very old and unexceptional Thompson. He got back on the winning track, before being stopped in the second round by Erkam Teper, who later failed a drug test. After a few more wins, he was stopped by Christian Hammer in 7 rounds in London in 2017 in a fight Price looked like he was going to win. In December, he scored a 6-round points win over a 4-11-1 foe—his last action in the ring.
With Price, we have a really big and athletic heavyweight, but one who seems to have major deficits in the punch-resistance department. That's not a problem where a heavyweight can thrive typically and it's not an issue that improves with age. And it's not so much that he has been knocked out, but the fighters who have managed to pull it off. Tony Thompson is a longtime contender, but never really fancied as a puncher. Teper is a decent puncher, but not a robust overall talent that you would think could beat a fighter like Price. And while he looked poised to beat Hammer, a fringe contender at best, he didn't get it done, as his chin again betrayed him.
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Still, there is something about Price that makes some hesitant to completely cast him aside. At the end of the day, if it were meant to happen, it would have happened before now. That chin is pretty much garbage and you don't need to be a prime Tyson to put a dent in it. But he keeps trying, changing camps, and climbing back in there to give it another go. You have to admire that, as he tries to make it right after things went so wrong. While he'll never be consistent factor at the top of the division that doesn't mean he's not capable of pulling off something good before he hangs 'em up.
His task for this bout is a tall one. Povetkin has established himself time and again. Povetkin has beaten a lot of good fighters, losing only once to the best heavyweight of his time. In his last fight, a December lopsided decision over Hammer, he beat the man who most-recently KO'd Price. He's a little ripe at 38 and his days at the top are probably numbered. But with Klitschko out of the way, he's poised to make another run at the top spot.
There is no use in questioning Povetkin's credentials. They far surpass those of Price's at the professional level. Still, no one goes on forever. He is 38 years old with a long amateur background in kickboxing and boxing, along with the demands of a pro fighting career that dates back 13 years. He fought top amateurs en route to becoming the top amateur in the world at his weight. At pro, he has been facing world-class opposition for over a decade. He has failed some drug tests, making one wonder if his body is breaking down after so long at the top.
Obviously, we're trying to pick fights correctly. And if someone were merely to ask who should win this fight with no betting concerns, the nod would assuredly go to the Russian former champion. David Price has been exposed and more than once. But maybe there is some appeal in betting him, as opposed to when he was a leading heavyweight on the rise. With no one expecting him to win, you get pretty hefty odds against him. It's not often you get better than 10-to-1 on a medal-winning talent fighting in his home country against a 38-year old who is a half-foot shorter than him.
Betting on Price is not an easy thing to do, especially for those of us who have very clear memories of him coming up short each time he has tried to really step up in class. He has been stopped by fighters who don't come all that close to the overall menace that Povetkin can generate in the ring. At the same time, enough questions loom about Povetkin to warrant a long-shot gamble. Against Hammer, he was knocked around a bit at times. His body seems to be waning, hence the need for extra help, though there is some dispute on those tests. At the end of the day, a small position on Price at these odds might be worth the gamble. I'm taking Price.
Loot's Pick to Win the Fight: I'm betting on David Price at +1050 betting odds. Bet this fight for FREE by taking advantage of a massive 100% sign-up bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GTBets!
