18/05/2016
David Price has commended Deontay Wilder for cancelling his world heavyweight title defence due to Alexander Povetkin’s failed drugs test – but wished he could have done the same.

Povetkin denies any wrongdoing after testing positive for banned substance meldonium but will no longer challenge for Wilder's WBC belt after the governing body postponed the fight pending an inquiry.

Wilder's management team insist the fight will not be rescheduled if Povetkin is confirmed to have violated doping rules, but Price never had the luxury of walking away before fights with opponents who would eventually fail tests.

Tony Thompson and Erkan Teper tested positive after becoming the only men to beat Price, leaving the Liverpool heavyweight with a rebuilding job that begins at Goodison Park on May 29, live on Sky Sports.

"If I knew Teper was on drugs, I would have done what Wilder did and the fight wouldn't have happened," Price exclusively told Sky Sports. "My career would have kept bubbling along, everything could have been completely different for me.

"It has highlighted what happened to me, which was wrong, and I deserve to be put back where I was before it happened. Once I'm active again I'm hoping to be reinstated to the position that I was in before I was cheated.

"Just to highlight what a big deal this is, a WBC title fight with a lot of money around it has been cancelled because one of the fighters has failed a drugs test. Now, if that doesn't tell you how much of a big deal this is, nothing will."

Price had strung together 15 consecutive victories including 14 stoppages until he was dealt two knockout defeats by Thompson in his home city in 2013.

Thompson's subsequent positive test for a prohibited substance was compounded when Teper, who knocked out Price last summer, was exposed and banned for two years by the European Boxing Union.

As the 32-year-old Brit prepares for his comeback he has reiterated a desire to see life bans dished out to anyone who fails a drugs test. "If you do it, and you're caught, you're out and you don't come back," Price said.

"They need the book thrown at them because without harsh penalties it will continue being a problem. Our health is on the line when you step in the ring - I could have walked into a potential death trap.

"There should be a protocol across the world where, if someone loses a fight as a result of the opponent taking drugs, they are reinstated and compensated. It won't happen to me now, but I've potentially lost out on a lot of money for losing that fight.

"I've lost to two men who failed drugs tests, and a lot of people have written me off. But I think this is a great story, it will become a great comeback story, and a success story for the clean-living athlete.