'There was a big police presence… it was crazy' — The story of the last Brit to beat Tyson Fury

Since Tyson Fury turned professional in 2008, no other British boxer has beaten him — but one man did, in fact, have his hand raised against the ‘Gypsy King’ as an amateur. So, whatever happened to him?

These days, Fury, 37, is a household name, having held multiple world titles throughout his illustrious career.

Ahead of his comeback fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday (April 11), the Brit boasts a record of 34 wins, one draw and two defeats from 37 bouts in the paid ranks, with those defeats coming against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk.

However, before turning professional, Fury was embroiled in a bitter rivalry with Liverpudlian David Price.

Price beat Fury on his way to an ABA title 20 years ago, before going on to secure a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. Like the ‘Gypsy King’, he later turned professional.

In a recent interview with Sportscasting.com, Price discussed his rivalry with Fury, saying: “It was Tyson Fury’s first senior ABA tournament. I was a Commonwealth Games gold medallist at the time — this was 20 years ago now. We fought in the North West final, and it was a fascinating occasion. The leisure centre was absolutely packed out, and they actually had to bring our fight forward — we were due on last as the super-heavyweights, but they moved us to third on the card for safety reasons. There was a big police presence, which was unheard of in amateur boxing. It was crazy.

“I was up for that fight because he’d been talking in the boxing press — writing letters to Boxing News saying he was going to knock me out, take my Olympic place, and then knock me out again to prove it wasn’t a fluke. In the amateurs, you just don’t get that. So it fired me up, and I thought, ‘I’m going to have to put this fella in his place.’

“I beat him, and at the time I was honestly relieved, because he’d won a medal at the World Juniors, which is a real achievement.”

After turning professional, the Scouser quickly put together an impressive record of 15 wins from 15 fights between 2009 and 2012, before suffering two consecutive knockout defeats to American Tony Thompson in 2013.

David Price (right) in action against Tony Thompson (left) (Credit:Getty)

Many suggest those defeats derailed Price’s career, as he had been linked with big-money fights against Derek Chisora and Fury at the time.

Thompson later tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic and masking agent, after the second bout.

Price, now 42, rebuilt his career by putting together a string of victories in fights which took place across Europe before he ran into Erkan Teper, who beat him by second-round knockout in Germany in 2015, handing the Brit his third defeat as a pro.

Teper tested positive for a banned substance before and after the bout, with the EBU stripping him of the European heavyweight title belt and banning him for two years. He also received a one-year ban from the German commission, although the result was upheld.

“I have been cheated, and I deserve something back,” Price said in 2015.

Once again, the Liverpudlian returned with two wins against Václav Pejsar and Ivica Perković before challenging for the WBO European heavyweight title against Christian Hammer in 2017.

Hammer knocked Price out in round seven of the contest in London, which dealt the Englishman a further setback in what was once a promising career.

And despite returning with a win over Kamil Sokołowski later in 2017, Price struggled to realise his full potential, despite appearing on some of the biggest cards of the era.

The 42-year-old took on Russia’s Alexander Povetkin at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in March 2018 but was knocked out in round five and, in doing so, missed out on winning the WBA Intercontinental and WBO International heavyweight titles.

Next time out, he boxed at Wembley on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s fight against Povetkin, but once more the Liverpudlian sustained a knockout defeat — the sixth of his professional career — this time to Sergey Kuzmin.

Price returned four months later, knocking out fellow Englishman Tom Little at the O2 Arena before going on to beat both Kash Ali and David Allen in 2019.

The Liverpudlian’s final fight took place on 26 October 2019 against Chisora, with ‘Del Boy’ winning by fourth-round knockout.

After two years of inactivity, Price announced his retirement in 2021, admitting that he no longer had the hunger to compete at the highest level.

Reflecting on his career in the last month, Price explained: “I haven’t got many regrets. Obviously, I’d have done certain things differently — probably picked different trainers for certain situations — but ultimately I don’t have that many regrets, because I think I maximised my potential. Although people thought I could win world titles, I don’t think I could have, and I’m at peace with that. When you’re finished boxing and you’re comfortable, you can accept your shortcomings. A couple of mine were obvious: the punch resistance wasn’t there, and I didn’t quite have the engine to make it at the very elite level.

“That said, I was in the mix and involved in big fights because people wanted to see me. I could knock someone out, but I could also be hurt — there was always going to be entertainment in my fights. So no regrets.”

As of 2026, according to Companies House, the former boxer is now the managing director of Outlook Energy Solutions Ltd, a company specialising in loft home insulation, heating, and energy efficiency measures in residential buildings.

And despite now working in a completely different industry, Price will no doubt be keeping a close eye on his former opponent Fury’s comeback this weekend.