Promoter Eddie Hearn says the fight should have been stopped after Johnny Fisher (13-1, 11 KOs) was knocked down the first time by Dave Allen (24-7-2, 19 KOs) in their rematch on Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena in London.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Hearn says Fisher’s senses were scrambled from the first knockdown, but he can understand why the referee, Marcus McDonnell, allowed it to continue. Fisher, 26, deserved the opportunity to try to come back because he didn’t look that badly hurt, to where he didn’t have a chance of making it out of the round.
Fisher Not Good Enough
Hearn mentioned that the second knockdown occurred in the last 10 seconds, coming right at the bell. He says it would have been difficult for the referee to jump in while Allen was “swinging away.” Up until the first punch, it was still questionable whether Fisher would survive. There were literally seconds remaining, and it looked like he was going to make it out of the round until he got nailed with that big left hook from Allen.
“You weren’t good enough tonight. You got beaten by the better fighter with more experience,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing News about Johnny Fisher getting knocked out by Dave Allen tonight. “Johnny was winning the fight like he was in the first fight until the fifth round, and he just got caught with that big overhand right. That’s Dave’s kind of signature [punch].”
Fisher didn’t lose due to Allen’s experience. He lost because he was facing a huge puncher, who took his best shots and finally exploded on him with his own in the fifth. Allen won the fight due to his power. If he couldn’t punch, he’d have been dominated by Fisher and would have lost.
“It scrambled his sense, but he was just starting to apply the pressure smartly,” said Hearn about Fisher being dropped the first time. “From there, he gets back to his feet. Arguably, he shouldn’t continue at that point, but at the same time, the referee has got to give him a chance on this occasion.
“It wasn’t like on the first knockdown, he was getting horrifically clean shots raining in on him. They were mainly on the side of the head. You got 10 seconds to go, and it was on the bell. The big left hook. It’s very difficult for the ref to jump in while Dave Allen is swinging away.”
If the referee had jumped in to stop the fight, it would have made a lot of fans angry because they would have questioned whether Fisher could have survived. The shots that Allen was landing to the side of Fisher’s head were doing damage. They were just as devastating for him if he’d been taking them to the face. Hearn failed to mention the body shots Allen was hitting Fisher with in the fifth. They played a key part in him getting the knockout.
Dramatic Knockout, Trilogy Possible
“I’m just glad that Johnny got to his feet eventually. He was fine the whole time, but it was a heavy knockout,” said Hearn. “It was a dramatic knockout. Everybody is talking about it, and that’s what happens when you have those big nights and big moments. I could see the trilogy one day, but not next.
“Should we have taken the rematch tonight. I still think the answer is yes, because we won the first fight. It was very close, but if we’re going to go to the levels that we hope you will, you learn from the first fight, and you beat Dave Allen in the rematch. He wasn’t good enough tonight.. Having been knocked out like that, it would be inexperience for Johnny Fisher to go back into #3,” said Hearn.
