David Price out for remainder of the year
British heavyweight David Price will be sidelined until December after undergoing hand surgery.
Price (18-2, 15 KOs), a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, underwent surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his right hand on Tuesday, promoter Sauerland Event announced. The surgery, performed by hand specialist Dr. Mike Hayton, was deemed a success and Price will be out until the end of the year.
"I picked up a hand injury in my last fight against [Yaroslav] Zavorotnyi," Price said of his lopsided 10-round decision win on June 14. "It had been four weeks and there had been no real improvement so I went to see Mike Hayton and we decided to open it up and see what the problem was. There was a split in the tendon and some scar tissue that had to be removed. It is still a little sore now but Mike was pleased with how it went and he is confident that my hand will be back to full strength in no time.
"Realistically we will be looking at December before I am able to get back in the ring. I am going to stay in the gym. There is still a lot of work I can do. I will just need to avoid any impact training for the time being. I am glad I have got this sorted now." Price said he considered fighting through the injury and waiting to have the surgery but decided against it.
"There was the option to take a fight in September, get an injection and fight through the injury but then you run the risk of making it worse or causing some permanent damage," Price said.
"There is no doubt that I will benefit from the additional time in the gym and come back even stronger. It is a minor setback but by the end of the year I will have boxed four times in 2014 and that is a massive step in the right direction. Next year I will be ready to take on anyone." Price, 31, has won three bouts in a row since his stunning back-to-back upset knockout defeats to American Tony Thompson in 2013.