David Price is nearing a return to heavyweight boxing

David Price is "super-motivated" and working towards an April comeback fight, says his promoter Kalle Sauerland.

The Liverpool heavyweight suffered a knockout defeat to Erkan Teper in July with the European title on the line - but news broke in December that the German had failed a drugs test. Teper was subsequently banned and the result changed to a No-Contest.

While Sauerland is disgusted by the handling of the Teper case, he believes Price will use the situation as motivation. Sauerland told Sky Sports: "We're hoping that David will make his comeback in April.

For David, it's something that's really depressed him because he really loves the sport. I think David will take spite out of this. He's super-motivated. Kalle Sauerland

"For David, it's something that's really depressed him because he really loves the sport. I think David will take spite out of this. He's super-motivated. We all know he has the tools to go far in the division. We know his weaknesses and he has to work on them with his trainer, whoever that will be.

"For me, Teper should never be in a boxing ring again unless something dramatic proves some sort of innocence there. A rematch would mean a big pay-day for him and I don't think someone who got in the ring armed with steroids is deserving of a penny out of this sport.

Erkan Teper (left) and David Price fought back in July

"Doping in boxing rears its ugly head only on occasion. Most big fights involving tests in training rather than post-bout but this one didn't. Questions have to be asked why that wasn't the case. As far as we know of the timeline, the results were in August so why were they only made available in December?

"If you take something to make yourself stronger, you're basically going in to the ring with a weapon that a human doesn't have. Cheating in boxing doesn't simply mean I'm going to win - it means I'm going to do serious damage to someone else or myself. It's a very serious matter.

Tony Thompson (left) also failed a drugs test after beating Price

"Price has been at the back end of some terrible handling from the sanctioning bodies. He's a family man, a real down-to-earth Liverpool boy and such a nice person. We are trying to get to the bottom of this but people are hiding behind lawyers and sanctioning bodies."

Price's only previous conqueror, Tony Thompson, tested positive for a banned substance in the wake of their 2013 bout in Liverpool. Despite the British Boxing Board of Control slapping an 18-month ban on the American and the UK Anti-Doping ruling him as 'disqualified', the result is still widely listed as a Thompson victory.