By: Blaine Henry
Dylan Price could be TMT’s next young star. After a knockout victory on the undercard of Deontay Wilder and Dominick Breazeale, Price moved to 8-0 with 6 by knockout. I had the chance to talk with him and his father about his win, what’s next for his career, and what it was like being signed to TMT.
All athletes get their start somewhere. Everyone starts at zero. Price was no exception. He played multiple sports and just couldn’t find what he was looking for. He couldn’t find his groove. “As a child I tried every sport. I was playing football and I had to move up to the 125 pounders and I was only weighing 55 pounds. So my dad told me I had to try out boxing because it was a family tradition.” And that’s all it took. Price instantly fell in love with boxing. “[My dad] said that I didn’t have to like it but I did have to try it out. Ever since my first day in the gym I just fell in love with it.” The rest was history. After a lenghty amateur career, Price turned pro, and then signed with TMT at a 1-0 professional record
“I was just super thankful. Blessed. I was honored. It is motivation to me,” says Dylan Price about his signing to TMT. He continues: “Floyd [Matweather] is one of the best fighters ever, you know. It’s an honor and I’m super thankful.”
The lone blemish on Price’s record, if you could call it that, is a no contest to Pedro Antonio Rodriguez back in January. Originally a loss for Price, the decision was overturned due to Rodriguez failing a drug test.
“With that fight, we got the opponent late,” says Price’s father. “We had a couple of guys fall through. In December in Vegas, we got down there and the opponent didn’t make it through customs. So they set it up for January. We were scheduled to leave out on Monday and by Friday they didn’t have an opponent. At that point we were pretty desperate. They came up with this guy on Saturday. We didn’t love it, but we just had the disappointment of not fighting in December and it looked like it was going the same route so we took that chance. In hindsight as a manager, as a trainer, and as a dad, that’s something that I learned from. No matter the situation, if I don’t think it’s a good fight, we’re going to have to pass.”
Short notice and he took the loss like a true champion. They don’t see the fight as a no contest, either. Both Price and his dad see the fight as a loss. They hope, and will, grow from that without it being detrimental to his career.
Just after father’s day, dad’s are the most proud in the world. Mr. Price has more to be proud of than most fathers. “He’s worked so hard since he was 10 years old. He’s always been a hard worker. We had a lot success, disappointment, success, disappointment and then, the last three years of his amateur career, he really found his stride. Then we turned it into the pros. He was successful as well. I’m very, very proud.” Here’s that awareness of his “defeat” again: “Even with the defeat, of course we found he was on steroids, but at the time, I was proud. He got off the canvas and he made a fight out of it. A lot of people thought we still won, including myself. I’m very proud of him.”
Going into his last fight with Manuel Salvador Manzo, Price and his camp had a solid gameplan. They knew the orthodox fighter would come out guns blazing. “My dad studied a lot of tapes on him. That was a part of the game plan from the rip. I didn’t want to do a lot of moving because in the game plan, we watched a lot of his opponents were moving around a lot. Every guy we seen him fight ran around the ring and was tired after the first round. He threw 150 punches a round. My dad just wanted me to stand in the ring, not run all over the place. That was all a part of the plan. You see, the first round he wasn’t used to people standing there with him. That was all part of the game plan.”
It wasn’t until the fifth round that Price had Manzo on the ropes. While he didn’t get the finish in the fifth, he came out in the sixth and got the job done. “I hurt him bad. I hit him with a left hook and a right hand. The next round, they made him see the doctor. I knew if I could let my hands go, it was only a matter of time before either the doctor stopped it or the refs or I knocked him out. I knew it was coming. Going into this fight I thought it was going to be a dog fight.”
Dylan Price and his camp aren’t trying to look too far ahead. The “loss” has the whole camp with a straight mindset on what’s next for his career. “We’re just taking it one fight at a time. I learned from that defeat. Not to overlook any opponenent. I’m just taking it one fight at a time,” Dylan says, referring to his no decsion. “I’m not worried about a world title or anything like that. I’m just worrying about each opponent they put in front of me. As long as I keep winning and keep shining, I’ll have the titles and the money and everything I want. I’m just taking it one step at at time.”
His dad continues, “We’re looking to move to eight rounders on July 27th. Also, when we’re talking about careers, just making sure everyone is on their game. From trainers, I have to make adjustments, to managers and promoters as well. We always got the opponent a week, three days before. I had a talk with Mayweather and Leonard and told them we’re not taking any more fights unless we get the opponent three weeks in advance. I cut out my sparring ten days out. I need to know what I’m preparing for. They’ve commited to us that will be the case. So as for our career, we will have more time to prepare for our opponents.”