Glen McCrory: Price Lacks Confidence?

On Ringside last week they had a segment where they sent David Price over to the Wlad/Mormeck fight to take in the atmosphere. Price gave his own thoughts on the fight, the atmosphere and how he hopes he can look forward to similar occasions with himself in the future as a champion.

One thing he mentioned was that he was taking things one step at a time and that he wouldnt really be ready for a Klitschko fight at present but was looking at 12-18 month timeframe before trying to dethrone one of the brothers. Back in the studio Glen McCrory aid he felt this showed a lack of confidence from Price and that a confident boxer should feel hes capable of winning the world title if the fight were to happen in a few months time. I dont think Glen meant he was actually capable of beating Klitschko, but felt that Price in his own mind should feel he is capable if he was really confident in his own abilities. Would anyone else agree with Glen on that?

Personally I like what I have seen from Price so far both in the ring and his personality and attitude. He seems to have his feet firmly on the ground and is focusing on developing his own skills one fight at a time. I think hes realistic in looking at a 12-18 month time frame to fight for world honours and he needs more high level experience. I really hope Maloney can match him well and get him some good tests. For Price it doesnt seem like the Klitschkos are going anywhere at the moment and even if they do it makes picking up world honours that bit easier so whats the rush?

Very down to earth and his career is going the right way. Don't agree with what Glenn said, Price is trying not to get too far ahead of himself.

I'm really worried about Groves getting his title shot so early, he isn't ready for it and I see it going very badly for him. Even if he could beat Steglitz he isn't on that level and the super middleweight division is really strong at the moment.

Have to say I really don't agree with Glen on this, what is wrong with a boxer being aware of his own abilities or limitations or knowing there is room for improvement in his game, for whatever reason Price has not fought many rounds yet so even if he could beat a brother, which lets face it is unlikely currently does he really have the grounding or experience to be a long reigning champion, even in todays fallow heavyweight times, sensible comments from Price and have to say Glen appears to be talking out of his rear end on this one.

I think what Price is lacking in is the atmosphere of a big fight.

He knows he has great ability and is probably the most talented in the country at this point.

But throw him into a 60k seated arena and this would be enough for any fighter to eject brown fluid at the back of their pants.

The Fury fight would have been great in the sense it would have been a massive domestic event and would have got Price used to having a large crowd to perform in front of.

So I think Glen has the wrong end of the stick with what Price is talking about. Even in the video on Ringside and Price stood in the ring, you could see he felt a little intimidated with the surroundings. Give him 12-18 months to get bigger fights in bigger venues and he will do alright.

It's easy for Glenn to say that now he is safely retired and not in line to fight them!

But on a serious note, Price is right to be circumspect at the moment. Although you wouldn't think it, it judging by the some of the ridiculous hype on here, he has not actually fought anyone who has given him a serious test. McDermott could have been that guy but did his training camp in his kitchen so we didn't really learn a great deal.

Price always strikes me as being a relatively intelligent fellow and clearly has skills so if he manages his career and expectations sensibly, he can be a real force.

Glen needs to get himself off the Newcy Brown, methinks.

Nothing wrong with Price pacing himself and admitting that he's not ready to take on the two best in the world, given that his 'biggest' fight to date was against a portly McDermott who, quite frankly, provided about as stern a test as my skinny fourteen year old brother would have done. Hardly prime preparation.

Not everyone can be as ambitios as you, Glenn. Because he wanted to fight Tyson and was gutted when Douglas beat him, as it robbed him of that dream fight with Iron Mike which he felt sure he'd have won, you know - just in case anyone hasn't heard any of the eleven million times Glenn has said that.

MCCrory would know......One of the alltime british greats...

No disgrace losing to the Joe Louis-esque Jeff Lampkin...

alma wrote:My issue with price has always been inactivity. I feel he should fight far more regularly. I also take issue with the number of fighters who say they'll be ready in a few fights time. What is price reasonably going to learn in a year when he'll have maybe what three fights? How many decent fighters did Tyson face before winning a world title. If you're good enough, you're ready, within reason

Tyson had boxed more than twice the amount of fights that Price has before he challeneged for a title. Moreover, he had actually been tested now and then; Tillis gave him a serious argument, to the point where Tyson may have had to settle for a draw had it not been for the knockdown he scored somewhere in the mid stages. I'd also add that Berbick, game though he was, is nowhere near the force the Klitschos are.

I dare say that Tyson may have actually found Berbick (certainly Smith) a step too far had he been pitted against them after just twelve totally unchallenging fights.

To be honest Mate who in the heavy division can teach you anything anyway????

Doesn't have to rush does he??....Just because he was being respectful on a program Mccrory is chucking it in his face!!!

We'd all have believed him if he'd said the Klits are garbage and I'd knock them both out...

Words don't mean a thing it's actions that count..

Agreed - Price could fight a Kbro now, be nowhere near ready, lose in a brave effort and disappear.

OR - he could learn something by beating up on a few defensively sound fighters - eg the Oqendo's of this world - and then be actually ready to do a bit more than challenge.

I think this is a ridiculous statement. All the challengers in the current HW crop are being rushed into title challenges as soon as they show any spark of potential. It ruins their chances of building up experience on the world stage if they are encouraged/expected to fight for a title this early in their career. Price is being smart. He knows he should fight a few of the fringe guys in order to build up some experience. There's nothing wrong with that (unless, of course, you are already a world tltle holder and you're still being fed 'build up' fights a la Canelo or Chavez Jr). He should be commended for trying to build himself up to a point where he thinks he can win, rather than many of the challengers who simply jump at the sniff of a bigger payday. A really unhelpful statement from McCrory in my opinion.

To be fair as much as I admire ex fighters, I tend not to listen to Glenn, I don't think he has a clue, in fact I'll go on record and say I'd probably listen the wifes opinion before McCrory.

Also don't think there's a big rush, you can jump straight into a world title fight from british level now but that's due to the state of the division for me and not because these fighters are ready. There's plenty of other fighters out there for him to test himself against. Fight would end in the same fashion as McCrory against Lewis.

tcribb wrote:To be fair as much as I admire ex fighters, I tend not to listen to Glenn, I don't think he has a clue, in fact I'll go on record and say I'd probably listen the wifes opinion before McCrory.

Ex-fighters are probably less likely to deck you tcribb - which is probably 9 10ths the reason you listen to her over them

Haha true Shah mate.

Never thought McCrory was a good judge of boxing in any case, average fighter getting a good living on SKY for knowing nowt.

Price is keeping it real,he knows he hasn't got enough experience to fight the Kbros yet,its called being sensible and keeping your feet on the ground.

I tend to agree with McCrory. I don't want to here prospects saying they aren't ready I want them to be full of confidence and willing to take on the World.

Price's confidence should be sky high he shouldn't be saying he isn't ready for anyone.

Two genuine questions here though, PBK (or is SRR full time now!?).

First off, do you personally think he's ready for a Klitschko?

Next, what good (if any) do you think would come from matching him with either Vitali or Wladimir now, given his meager experience so far in his career?

88Chris05 wrote:Two genuine questions here though, PBK (or is SRR full time now!?).

First off, do you personally think he's ready for a Klitschko?

Next, what good (if any) do you think would come from matching him with either Vitali or Wladimir now, given his meager experience so far in his career?

SRR is here to stay.

I don't think he is ready for a Klitschko but he would make a better fist of it than guys like Mormeck.

It depends on the fighter some are mentally frail and wouldn't come back from a defeat early on but if you are destined to be top class then you learn from it and it makes you better. The zero has became to important in modern boxing.

I'm not saying throw him in I just don't want to here a guy whose confidence should be sky high saying he isn't ready for anyone yet. I'm not saying calling them out. Just say I'll be on this stage soon enough no need to say your not ready yet. It makes me think there is some doubt in the back of his mind.

The difficulty is the cupboard is that bare at the minute at heavy it is not impossible Price could get the call, as could Fury or any guys at that level . My guess is Price is trying to distance himself a bit because if he says he is ready or willing and then gets the call he has kind of commited himself. Am no fan of guys just taking a shot for the payday or experience, if you have the ability or potential to improve to a point where you have a genuine chance for me it is better to wait until you can turn up and win.

Losing wouldn't be bad for Price unless he is mentally weak. In that case you may as well find out sooner rather than later.

There is a big question mark over Prices chin after he was stopped in the amateurs.

Getting sparked out never done Wlad any harm it made him better.

In fairness though, SRR, nobody was quizzing Wladimir on whether he'd like to face Lewis / Holyfield when he was only a dozen fights in to his professional career. I dare say that Lewis would have handed him the mother, father, brother, sister, auntie and uncle of all hidings had a fight been made at a similar stage, for instance. No telling what kind of effect that could have had on his future career.

Price is still a very young pup in the professional game. If you yourself admit that he's not ready for a fight of such magnitute, I'm not sure how you can be critical of him for saying the same. The fact is that 99.99% of dozen-fight novices throughout boxing history won't have been ready to take on the very best at that particular time. Conventional wisdom says he needs more time and experience, and besides, I almost think it would be unfair on Price to stick him in there with the Klitschkos now, and not really a proper reflection of him as a fighter as he's far from the finished article.

Chris your missing my point. I'm not saying he should be calling them out or looking for the fight just that he shouldn't be going about saying he isn't ready without people asking him about fighting them just now.

A guy like Price who has dealt with his opposition in the manner he has should be more bullish. He should be more confident in his own ability.

No doubt Wlad would have been given a good beating by the likes of Lewis when he was in the early stages of his career but it was a very different era. The division was a lot stronger than it is now.

The Klitschkos need challengers and Price is a potential challenger. There is almost no step up in class from domestic to Euro level. None of the guys in the top 10 want to fight each other because the all want the pay day that comes with a K bro. Price is about 2 wins away from being offered a fight with them.

No doubt he isn't ready but what are you protecting him from? Getting stopped, losing his zero? If he is going to be World class then it won't do him any harm it could be good for him. I would guess that it would be better for him than stopping guys like McDermott and Sexton early on and not fighting for another 4 months.

It's all pretty irrelevant really because Deontay Wilder is the future of the division and the sport imo.

He's been competing at the same level as Price and has been much more impressive. Golden Boy are just taking there time because they know they have time on there side and the Klitschkos don't.

The way the professional game is going at the moment its rather distressing.

Used to be in fights 1 - 15 you fought your way up the rankings, journeymen, gatekeepers, former greats etc

15 - 25 you'd be winning national titles, Euro, Commonwealth etc

Then at 25+ you'd be looking into the world scene - if your win percentage was greater than 80% then you'd have a fair shout at any of the top guys, maybe a few number 1 contender fights and then challenge the big boys.

That was of course when people fought 3 times a year and not once or twice.

Now though, it seems that if you win a few fights against mediocre opposition, you're instantly thrown to the wolves. It shouldn't be like that.

SugarRayRussell (PBK) wrote:Chris your missing my point. I'm not saying he should be calling them out or looking for the fight just that he shouldn't be going about saying he isn't ready without people asking him about fighting them just now.

I see where you're coming from, SRR. But in fairness to Price, it's a fine line he's walking in that respect. If he was a little more bullish, he may find himself cornered in to taking a fight too early. Saying that he was ready for all comers would set him up for one hell of a fall if he were to then reject the fight on the basis of not being ready, in light of his comments over Fury vacating the British title.

I'd say you're right with regards to your point about learning more from a hammering against a Klitschko than he would from steamrolling another British-level fighter, but I'd also add that two or three testers now against solid European-level fighters, or perhaps former world title challengers, would teach him more than both of those other options would right now. And if Maloney is serious about making Price a world force, that's the route he needs to be put on, and soon.

88Chris05 wrote:

SugarRayRussell (PBK) wrote:Chris your missing my point. I'm not saying he should be calling them out or looking for the fight just that he shouldn't be going about saying he isn't ready without people asking him about fighting them just now.

I see where you're coming from, SRR. But in fairness to Price, it's a fine line he's walking in that respect. If he was a little more bullish, he may find himself cornered in to taking a fight too early. Saying that he was ready for all comers would set him up for one hell of a fall if he were to then reject the fight on the basis of not being ready, in light of his comments over Fury vacating the British title.

I'd say you're right with regards to your point about learning more from a hammering against a Klitschko than he would from steamrolling another British-level fighter, but I'd also add that two or three testers now against solid European-level fighters, or perhaps former world title challengers, would teach him more than both of those other options would right now. And if Maloney is serious about making Price a world force, that's the route he needs to be put on, and soon.

I agree with you on the former champs and euro level guys but all these guys want to fight bums and get a shot at the Klitschkos and very few are willing to risk it being a stepping stone for a prospect.

Golden Boy are just taking there time because they know they have time on there side and the Klitschkos don't.

As is Price. He's distancing himself from any potential fight with the brothers until such time as he feels ready for them. I think he's being politically smart.

superflyweight wrote:

Golden Boy are just taking there time because they know they have time on there side and the Klitschkos don't.

As is Price. He's distancing himself from any potential fight with the brothers until such time as he feels ready for them. I think he's being politically smart.

I'm not arguing with that but I've listened to Wilder being interviewed and he's been asked about the Klitschkos and he said he will fight anyone. That is the sort of confidence a young unbeaten guy who is sparking guys out for fun should have.

Wilder's also had nearly twice as many fights as Price so has quite a bit more experience.

Price is a 12 fight novice learning the game.

Price is just being realistic. He knows he's not ready for a Klitschko and is just being honest.
Price (and Wilder) sparred with Haye before the Wlad fight and most reports suggest that Haye handled them both quite easily.
Given how easily Haye was then handled by Wlad gives you an indication of how much they still have to improve before before they gets anyway near that level.

I like Price, think someone like arreola would make mince out of him at the moment. But that aside I think the question is regarding the fighters self belief.

Khan thinks he can beat Mayweather now, in fact he's thought it for years,
Haye thought even when he was a cruiser he could beat either Kbro,
Hatton was convined he could beat Mayweather,
Naz thought he could beat Eubanks,
Degale....nuff said

The reality of course can be a different story but Fighters believe, its why coming back from defeat can be so problematic.

Are all other heavyweights contenders already beaten mentally?Waiting for the aging process to do the work for them? It is to early for Price, any fool can see that, but sometimes you expect the manager/promotor to be reigning in the aspirations, not the boxer. People like a humble boxer, but the truth is the majority of real world champions are rarely humble.

Nico the gman wrote:Wilder's also had nearly twice as many fights as Price so has quite a bit more experience.

Price is a 12 fight novice learning the game.

They have been boxing at similar levels though, Its just that Price signed with the wrong promoter. Maloney can't put on enough shows to get Price out regularly.

I think he comes across as very level headed, were he to say he was ready for the brothers and a fight didn't materialise then he'd get abuse for shouting his mouth, a no win situation.

Absolutely..

The guy can't win....

Imperial Ghosty wrote:I think he comes across as very level headed, were he to say he was ready for the brothers and a fight didn't materialise then he'd get abuse for shouting his mouth, a no win situation.

I just like a bit more confidence in up and comers. He is right he isn't ready but let other people say that. All he had to say is I'll fight anyone Frank puts in front of me and it's not an issue.

How do you know he's not confident Sugar????

Words are words.....He doesn't want to look stupid no dount...

No offence but people are hanging him for a one minute interview..

He has 12 fights and probably thinks people will think him a jerk for saying he'd stretch Vlad or Vitali...

I'm not saying he lacks confidence he shouldn't. He's unbeaten and knocking people out for fun.

I never said he should call them out just shouldn't be go about saying he isn't ready for anyone. I expected a young up and coming unbeaten fighter to be more bullish. Maybe it just isn't in his nature.

Like I said just saying I'll fight anyone that Frank puts in front of me would do don't say you can't beat anyone.

He said he wasn't ready If we are honest...Not like saying he couldn't beat him..

I took it as saying he'd like a few tune ups first...

I see what you're saying but I never took it as him admitting he couldn't beat him...

But that he'd be in a better position in a year or two's time to do so..

I find it hard to fault Price for his comments or mentality really. People say theres a thin line between confidence and arrogance, but theres also a line between confidence and delusion.

The nature of the division doesnt really help because its pretty rare that a guy with 12 fights and career best wins involving his sparring partner at short notice and McDermott would even be considered near a title shot. Personally I think if Price genuinely felt confident he would beat a Klitschko in a few months it would be closer to Audley-eque self delusion rather than genine confidence.

Technically, I guess Glenn is right in saying that if the fight was made for a few months down the line Price would probably not feel confident in his chances. But is this lacking confidence or just being realistic?

I would argue that Price does not lack confidence because he says he is confident that in the next 12-18 months he will be ready. Thats a realistic time frame. I do actually feel he is confident in his future in the sport and believes he will be a world champion but he just knows its step by step process. You could see he looked pretty overawed by the whole atmosphere and build up of the Klitschko fight which is natural for someone who has only just won the lightly regarded English title in front of small audiences. Plus its also worth considering that over confidence is potentially just as damaging and unhelpful for someone in Prices position. And I would definately consider Price to be suffering from a dose of overconfidence if he honestly felt he could beat one of the Klitschkos in a matter of months.