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It feels like Dave Allen has had several remarkable boxing careers in the 13 years that he has been a professional heavyweight.
He has fought on the tiniest shows, in bad four and six-round fights in the sport’s forgotten lands, and he has also topped the bill at the O2 Arena.
During the last two years, he has met men with records like two wins and 25 defeats, and also been in a significant fight in Riyadh. He has been on boxing’s wayward train for about a decade, losing seven of his 33 fights on both sides of the tracks. His career has looked over a few times, and Allen has looked in danger of just vanishing.
On Saturday at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, he is the star of the show when he fights Arslanbek Makhmudov, who not so long ago was considered one of boxing’s most lethal fighters.
Makhmudov has collected a lot of chilling and fearsome nicknames and has stopped or knocked senseless 19 of the 20 men he has beaten. He has actually won in the first round on 13 occasions and has clearly intimidated men with his size and attitude; he enters the ring like a wrestler, hissing and sneering and then, once the bell has sounded, flattens his victims.
Makhmudov stands about 6ft 6in or 6ft 7in and weighs in the region of 19st. He also looks like he could eat a galloping horse; there is a nice story about him wrestling bears for fun. It seems plausible, to be honest, given that there exists footage of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov doing the same as a child.
Allen, by contrast, often weighs in with a knitted hand puppet covering his privates. It’s a fun gimmick.
Allen has stopped 19 of the 24 men he has beaten; in May, Allen stopped Johnny Fisher, who was unbeaten in 13 and fighting in his backyard. The Fisher win secured him two things: a fight on his doorstep in Sheffield, and a dangerous opponent in the opposite corner. Allen’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, admitted he was shocked when Allen picked Makhmudov, but it is a brilliant selection.
Allen last fought in Sheffield in July of 2024 in front of a few hundred at Skate Central; the fight was over after just four rounds – Allen won on points – against a man with eight wins and 14 defeats. For Saturday, it looks like nearly 9,000 tickets for the Sheffield Arena have been sold. It is, even in a sport rich with fairytales, a remarkable story.
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“It’s still all a bit of dream,” Allen said. “I’m in the main event at the Sheffield Arena against the beast.”
There was a time when Allen was on the heavyweight fringes, both popular and far better than he got credit for. In 2019, at the O2, Allen knocked out Australia’s Lucas Browne with a sickening body shot. Allen was the main event, tickets sold, the heavyweight division was fluid and Allen was in the mix – he was also a character and the public liked him.
After the Browne fight, there was bold talk about Allen’s plans, but he was stopped in his next fight by Dave Price and it looked like he had missed the window. It might sound harsh, but it is true. It has taken Allen five hard years of highs and lows to get back into contention.
He admits he lost his way, and that is being kind; in truth, he is lucky to be back, lucky to be in Saturday’s fight. He is also fully deserving of his status as the main-event fighter.
Dave Allen from the summer of 2024 was never going to be in this position. He changed his attitude before the first Fisher fight last year in Riyadh, which he controversially lost on points, and was a different man for the rematch. He now has Saturday’s big fight, and there is a genuine chance of a potential bout against former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
Talks have taken place, but first he must beat Makhmudov. This is a very different Allen: motivated, in shape and aware that he can no longer spend any time in boxing’s wilderness.
In 2023, Makhmudov lost for the first time, and it was disturbing to watch from ringside as the giant, the latest “Beast from the East”, was broken down by Agit Kabayel’s short hooks to the liver, ribs and stomach. And then it happened again; Makhmudov has a decent chin and a big, strong head, plus two lethal fists, but his long body is weak.
Since the last loss, Makhmudov has won once in the first round and remains a very real danger. Allen is taking a brilliant, calculated risk. The unwritten story here is that Makhmudov needs the win more – now that makes this a terrific fight.