Dave Allen warns that Arslanbek Makhmudov’s only chance of beating him on Saturday is to try to score a knockout in the first three rounds. If he can’t do that by then, “He’s in trouble.”
Allen (24-7-2, 19 KOs) faces the big 6’5 1/2″ Russian heavyweight Makhmudov (20-2, 19 KOs) in the 12-round headliner on Saturday, October 11 at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England. The event will be shown live on DAZN starting at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 p.m. PT.
It’s going to be interesting to see how well Allen holds up under the firepower of Makhmudov in the first three rounds because he’s going to be getting hit hard on Saturday. Makhmudov’s last opponent, Ricardo Brown, is arguably a better fighter than Davd Allen, and he destroyed him in one round last June.
Allen is taking a monstrous step up in class, going from British-level heavyweight Johnny Fisher to murderous puncher Makhmudov without the proper step-up fights. What further hurts Allen’s chances of winning in this impossible mission is that he’s not young.
Dreaming of Wilder Money
Allen and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, haven’t said what plan B is for his career if he gets blown out of the water by Makhmudov. If he loses this fight, he can forget about his dreams of fighting Deontay Wilder. That isn’t happening, and likely won’t even if he wins. Deontay is hunting bigger game.
He’s what you call an ‘old 33,’ and has a lot of hard miles on his career odometer. Moreover, he hasn’t treated his body like a temple, choosing not to deny himself the enjoyment of eating calorie-rich foods.
The first halfway decent win of Allen’s career against Fisher has given him the false belief that he’s able to defeat Makhmudov and use him as a stepping stone to line up a fight against former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder to receive life-changing money.
“I think I win on points. When I’m in the mood, I’m near impossible to shift. It’s going to be carnage for a few rounds. He’s really going to come and have a go at me,” said Dave Allen during today’s final press conference, talking about his fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Crumbles at the Top Level
Allen tends to fall apart when facing world-level competition. We’ve seen it happen repeatedly in the past. He beats a handful of tomato cans, then steps up and crumbles when matched against decent competition.
Allen’s failures
- Tony Yoka
- Frazer Clarke
- Dillian Whyte
- Luis Ortiz
- David Price
It’s not that Allen is an underachiever. He tries, but the talent isn’t there, and he gets wiped out when he steps up. Fishher is basically his ceiling for what he’s capable of doing.
Allen’s Three-Round Warning
“When round four starts, and he sees that big, fat fellow smiling at you, then the fight will start. The fight will start in round four,” said Allen. “He’s going to come at me in rounds one through three to try and shift me. If you don’t, you’re in trouble.”
Michael Collins has been writing about boxing since 2016, covering championship fights, rising prospects, and the business side of the sport.
