David Price not aiming for title shots, but not ready to retire

Once upon a time, David Price was thought to be a major heavyweight prospect. In a way, he was Anthony Joshua before Anthony Joshua. He didn’t win a gold medal at the Olympics, but he did win bronze at Beijing 2008, and he turned pro in the United Kingdom with a lot of hype and fanfare.

The pro story of David Price (25-7, 20 KO) has been told many times over now. The 6’8” slugger just didn’t turn out to have the punch resistance for the high levels, and never even put together a short run enough to get a world title shot it would have been questionable he deserved, which happen all the time in boxing.

Price, who turns 37 in July, did have an eventful 2019. In March, he took a bizarre DQ win over Kash Ali, who was being beaten and decided to bite his way into the L column. In July, he pulled something of an upset by hammering Dave Allen into submission. But in October, it crashed down, as Derek Chisora stopped Price in four.

In all reality, Price could probably retire now, at least in terms of there not being much he can do that he hasn’t done. But he tells Sky Sports that he’s not thinking of retiring just yet, and while he admits any world title glory is likely beyond him, he knows there’s always some chance, somehow:

“I just want to be competing again. I enjoy the feeling of winning. Titles and stuff have probably gone. The problem is in boxing, if you get a couple of wins, other things might happen. There’s always the potential for the phone to ring.”

In short, it doesn’t sound like Price is going to pursue a big, world title-level fight. But he’s right — if you win a couple, the phone might ring. Price sounds like he’s unsure if he’d really answer that call anymore, but at the same time, would you really expect him to turn down a shot at a potential life-changing fight? That’s hard to say no to, no matter what.

But it does seem as though the big guy will fight on. He may not have had the career once envisioned for him, but he’s also proven to be a fighter, never giving up on the big picture of just getting out there and giving it his best.