By Terence Dooley

Heavyweight world Champion Tyson Fury fired plenty of barbs at former British and Commonwealth titlist David Price (19-3, 16 KOs) when they were both undefeated contenders, but he has mellowed towards the Liverpudlian and has some words of encouragement for the comebacking fighter.

Back-to-back defeats to Tony Thompson (TKO 2 and TKO 5 respectively) nixed talk of a Fury-Price showdown.  A run of four wins followed those losses yet a sickening second-round KO reverse against Erkan Teper (later changed to a No-Contest due to Teper testing positive for banned substances) left Price seemingly down and out—a lot of boxing fans have written him off completely.

Fury, though, told BoxingScene that Price holds the keys to his own form.  The 27-year-old dismissed Teper as a "pub doorman" type of fighter, arguing that Price was the architect of his own downfall for failing to establish his jab before giving his take on what he needs to do in order to haul himself back into contention.

“I didn’t speak to him for years then saw him in the airport 18-months ago,” he said, referring to a photo of the two that was posted on Twitter.

“He has gone off the radar since losing to Teper.  He is a big, strong guy with a big punch, but he cannot move or box.  Heavyweights cannot take each other’s punches if they are stood still.  Alright, Tony Thompson was high-level, older but high-level—Teper isn’t of that class.  David should have jabbed him, not punched, and avoided trading with a brawler.

“I don’t mind David, I wish he was 27 and 0 now so he could be a challenger for myself.  Combat one-on-one is not what everyone is cut out for.  If David isn’t then he should assess that and sort his mind out by himself—not by using a psychologist—if he wants to be a champion on mine or any level.  You need to sort your mind out before anything else in this sport.”

Price is expected to return in the summer.  Both Thompson and Teper tested positive for banned substances following their wins over Price, so he could use that to his advantage by mentally instilling in himself the belief that he did not lose fairly and squarely on those occasions.

Time is ticking, though, so this could be the final push for the likable heavyweight; he will have to reassert himself all over again, both mentally and physically, if he is to make a successful return.

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