HEAVYWEIGHT contender David Price will fight Christian Hammer at London Olympia on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jnr’s super-middleweight fight against Renold Quinlan on February 4.
Eubank’s clash with Quinlan will introduce ITV’s pay-per-view service, ITV Box Office, while Price will feature on the supporting bill.
The hard-hitting Liverpudlian hasn’t fought since hammering Ivica Perkovic in October of last year, and is eager to regain momentum.
“Just before Christmas it was more or less agreed that it would happen, it was just a case of tying loose ends up,” he told Boxing News.
“I’ve been training since the end of October, I stayed in training just in case Eric Molina got injured and pulled out against Anthony Joshua. So I’ve been in the gym, all’s going well.
“It’s good exposure. Get my name and face out there, get a good win and I’m right back in the mix. It doesn’t make much difference as long as I fight and get paid and get the win, but it’s a bonus that it’s on ITV.”
Price is on the comeback trail after suffering a stoppage loss to Erkan Teper – who subsequently tested positive for banned substances – in 2015, having previously been stopped in consecutive fights with Tony Thompson – who also failed drug tests – in 2013.
He was in the running to fight IBF heavyweight champion Joshua in December, and had also been linked to a fight with Joseph Parker, who recently claimed the WBO title.
“The most important thing is to get the result and then we can start making moves,” he continued. “It’s a bit of a crossroads fight, he’ll obviously be looking to win and push on too. It’s a great fight.
“Every boxing network, they want a heavyweight. The door’s open for me to be that for ITV if I can put in a good performance. People want to see knockouts, they want to see brutal knockouts, especially with heavyweights and that’s what I’ll be going in there to do. I’m not looking to mess around, I’m looking to go in there and put it on the opposition to let them know who the big man is.”
Germany-based Romanian Hammer last fought in the UK in 2015, when he retired after eight rounds with Tyson Fury at the O2 Arena in London.
In October, he outpointed Teper over 12 rounds. Price actually fought Hammer in the amateurs, beating him on points in an olympic qualifying event prior to the 2008 Games, where Price won a bronze medal.
Coincidentally, Hammer had beaten Teper in that qualifying tournament to set up his bout with Price.
“Christian Hammer’s a name that’s popped a few times over the last few years,” Price revealed. “I think we were going to try and do a fight with him before he fought Tyson Fury, so he’s someone who’s been mentioned a couple of times.
“He’s well ranked, he’s got a good record. He lost to Tyson Fury and Mariusz Wach. He’s a good opponent and he has a good amateur record. We’re familiar with each other.”
