Rising heavyweight star David Price will defend his British and Commonwealth titles against Audley Harrison in the ‘Battle of the Olympians’, exclusively live on BoxNation.
Price will make his debut on the dedicated boxing channel in front of his home fans on Saturday, October 13, when he takes on the 2000 Olympic champion and former world title challenger at the Liverpool Echo Arena.
Many knowledgeable insiders within the sport claim that the fast, heavy-handed, 6ft 8in Merseysider is a future world champion.
Since winning Bronze at the Beijing Olympics, he has racked up an unbeaten 13 fight run and his punch power has been undeniable with 11 stoppages; his last seven fights have all ended prematurely.
He demolished John McDermott inside one round to win the English title back in January and followed that up in May with a devastating fourth round KO of Sam Sexton to claim the British and Commonwealth titles.
Following this triumph, Price joined forces with promoter Frank Warren’s fledgling BoxNation channel to begin the next phase of his career, though he will continue to be promoted by Frank Maloney, who formerly worked with world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
Maloney managed to find a new television home for Price and other fighters in his stable when Sky Sports in the UK decided to go out of the boxing business.
Price’s opponent Audley Harrison, 40, won super-heavyweight Olympic gold in Sydney with victory over Kazakhstan’s Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov.
A-Force was unbeaten in his first 19 fights when he turned professional soon afterwards, but has endured several damaging defeats over the last seven years.
He suffered his first major setback when he was beaten by Danny Williams in a 2005 Commonwealth title bout.
A European title defeat by Michael Sprott two years later was followed by a loss on points to Belfast taxi driver Martin Rogan in 2008.
Harrison’s last major fight, for the WBA world heavyweight title in November 2010, led to him being heavily criticised after being stopped in the third round by David Haye.
He made his comeback in May with victory over Ali Adams at the Brentwood Centre in Essex.
The fight represents both Price’s first defence of the British and Commonwealth titles won against Sam Sexton in May and potentially the most difficult challenge of his career.
But the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist admits that Harrison was once an inspirational figure then his admission that he has no intention of emulating the latter’s career in the pro ranks underlines the admirable ambition he has.
The ‘Battle of the Olympians’ forms part of a packed line-up of live boxing from the Liverpool Echo Arena.
The talent stacked 14-fight undercard also includes a vacant British cruiserweight title fight between Shane McPhilbin (8-3) and Jon Lewis Dickinson (11-2).
Chris Edwards (17-14-4) has his British and Commonwealth flyweight title defence against local Kevin Satchell (8-0) and there’s also a British light-welterweight title eliminator between Adil Anwar (17-1) and Dale Miles (13-1).
Details of how to follow the ‘Battle of the Olympians’ on BoxNation:
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Subscription channel BoxNation is the only place to see this bumper night of boxing on Merseyside.
Live coverage of the fight night in Liverpool will kick off at 7.30pm, with three British title fights on the undercard before the main event.
Price/Harrison is expected to start at approximately 9.30pm, after promoter Frank Maloney decided to shifted the fight forward to attract more television viewers and because of Sunday newspaper deadlines.
It had been due to take place at 11pm, but after talks with BoxNation executives the ‘Battle of the Olympians’ will start early.
Maloney said: “I believe an earlier start will persuade more people to tune into BoxNation who have signed a deal with David and myself to broadcast his fights.
“The great thing about having a dedicated boxing channel is that you can be more flexible with the times that you start big fights. You are not being dictated to because of other sports schedules and you working with a fan friendly organisation.
“There has been interest from Sunday newspapers and it will help the fight get valuable exposure nationally. There may also be fans that are dependent on getting last trains back home so I hope this helps them.”
Jim Rosenthal will introduce BoxNation’s exclusive live coverage from the Liverpool Echo Arena, with expert analysis from Steve Bunce and Steve Lillis, and commentary by John Rawling.
BoxNation is available on Sky channel 437 and Virgin Media channel 546.
For more details on how to subscribe to BoxNation (£10 per month + registration fee) – CLICK HERE
You can also watch the fight online by signing up to LiveSport.TV – CLICK HERE
Further information on Frank Maloney Promotions can found via the official website.
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