Lauren Price is looking ahead to the upcoming fight in Wales as the Olympic gold medalist looks to take her career to the next level in 2023.
At the Tokyo Games in 2021, the GB team was the most successful British boxing team in 100 years. The Welshman was one of the stars of that side, and won the middleweight gold medal with a winning performance.
She became a professional in 2022, with her first win at Wembley Arena stopping Timea Belik on the undercard of Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall at The O2 in London in October.
Lauren Price has set her sights on a busy 2023 (Photo: Lawrence Lustig)
Now Price wants to return to Wales to fight as a professional.
“That would be brilliant. It’s a dream to get the Welsh fans behind me,” Price said Sky Sports. “That would be a Welsh boxing dream.
“We’re talking about it,” he added. “As soon as I get to boxing in Wales and get the fans, it’s good. I had a lot of support at the Olympics.
“If I box in Wales they’ll get behind me.”
Boxing is not the only sport that has represented Wales. He also played football for the international side.
“I used to play football, I used to play in Cardiff,” he said. “Boxing in this arena would be great one day.”
Price’s Olympic gold medal was particularly impressive when he won at middleweight, a division or two above his natural weight. In the years to come, when he reaches the world stage as a professional there is a great battle to be had. Boxing Claressa Shields at super-welterweight would be hard to resist.
“As long as it’s a little lower then yes, why not?” Price said happily. “Who knows, it might fill the Greatness [stadium].”
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Olympic gold medalist Lauren Price describes her incredible sporting career, including captaining Wales and playing for Cardiff City.
Price wants his next race to be in the top six before moving to eight races. Before the end of 2023, he wants to compete 10 times, the race distance.
Like his teammate Karriss Artingstall, a Tokyo Olympic medalist and now professional fighter, Price wants to fight five times in the next 12 months.
“We are in six groups but we are learning as a battle of 10. We are all at the top,” said Price. “If I fight five times, by the end of the year I’ll be ready to step up.
“The pro game is different so we want to progress. I want to be in the 10 rounder but I will listen to Rob. [McCracken, their trainer] and follow his instructions.
“As an amateur, we’re not used to crowds and things like that. This is what we have to get used to. It’s the little things as a pro that’s different from amateurs, not wearing ropes, less gloves, having a crowd there.
“It’s time for him [McCracken] he can point us in the right direction to win international titles. On the road now the next few fights are learning fights to get to the right place.”
The price is already starting. Just two fights into his pro career, he looked dangerous last time out when he stopped Belik inside four rounds.
“I lost a lot of weight as a sportsman because I was boxing at 75kgs, so now I’m boxing heavy guys like me. So it’s a little bit different and it takes a lot of getting used to but I’m still going. I want to keep my speed and my movement because that’s what I’m talking about,” said Price.
“But in the professional game, I want to hit big shots again. In the first fight, I punched professionally and in my last fight I just wanted to knock him out.”
Lauren Price can’t wait to box in Wales with her home supporters to support her
Taking part in the big all-female show at the O2 was a highlight of 2022. But there was another kind of highlight last year when King Charles presented Price with her MBE.
“Myself, Karriss, my nan and my aunt all went to the palace,” she said. “It was great to have my family with me.
“He just talked to me about my game and I told him about playing football for Wales and winning caps and obviously going to the Olympics. We had a little chat for five minutes.”
For 2023 it is now back to the hard work of training and boxing. “Realistically, I’d like to have a six-rounder and then go eight and maybe a 10-rounder by the end of the year,” Price said. “Just going out as much as I can, five times … I don’t want to have a break.
“This year is going to be a busy year.”
