By Jake Donovan
With the announcement of tickets going on sale for his June 26 homecoming at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. it's clear that David Price's next fight will not come against Erkan Teper or for the EBU heavyweight title - unless of course Teper has designs to travel to the Brit's backyard.
The mystery of where Price would show up for his next fight was resolved with details to his fan base on how to purchase tickets for the Liverpool bill. The news all but killed any plans of a Price-Teper showdown on July 17 in Germany.
Teper's promoter, Z!-Promotions won a purse bid to stage the planned heavyweight showdown on July 17 in Germany. It's possible that such a show still takes place and for the vacant EBU title, but it will have to come against a different opponent for the unbeaten Teper (14-0, 9KOs). The close proximity of fight dates disallow such an occurrence.
As noted by representatives from Sauerland Event's press office, "If Z! Promotion goes ahead with the July 17 date, Price is not eligible as there should be 28 days between his last bout and the EBU Title fight."
For the 31-year old Price (19-2, 16KOs), the June 26 showcase marks his first trip home since a pair of losses to Tony Thompson in 2013, both of which took place at Echo Arena. The back-to-back knockout defeats—the latter taking place in July '13 (boasting Thompson's epic post-fight interview) led to sweeping changes in his career.
Included among the changes were moving over to Sauerland Event, having won four straight since last January. The comeback tour has largely taken place in Germany, along with one fight in Denmark. His most recent win came in February, stopping Brazil's Irineu Beato Costa in six rounds
An opponent is expected to be announced in the coming days, according to Sauerland Event's press office.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox