If Dave Allen is a pretty big underdog going into his October fight with Russian giant Arslanbek Makhmudov, then Dillian Whyte is a very big underdog going into his August fight with fellow Brit, the red-hot, everybody’s-talking-about-him Moses Itauma. Yet both veterans of the game are ready to spring the upset win.
Allen, speaking with Sky Sports, said he relishes being the underdog and that fighters, when they get in the ring with him, “are a little surprised that I’m more defensively cuter than they expect, I’m a lot stronger than they think.”
Against puncher Makhmudov, Allen will need both assets in order to win.
How Allen plans to shock the Russian powerhouse
“I think I thrive off the underdog tag I’ve had most of my career, every time I’ve been expected to win I get beat, I’m not very good with pressure,” Allen said. “That’s why I picked Makhmudov, I think a lot of people will expect him to beat me but I like that and I like to shock. I think I can beat him, I am the underdog but I think I’ve got the right style to beat him.”
A win for Allen here would be big, and Eddie Hearn has promised his fighter an even bigger, indeed “massive” fight should he do it in Sheffield on October 11.
Whyte arguably needs a win more so than does Allen. A loss to Itauma, especially a quick, crushing stoppage loss, and where does Whyte go but into retirement? Whyte, speaking with The Ring, came out with a curious line, with him stating that “everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.”
Whyte said too many fighters are “scared to take risks,” but that he should in no way be counted amongst this group, hence his taking of the fight next Saturday.
Can Whyte survive the young lion’s charge?
“My mindset is that nobody wants to fight Moses, he’s young, sharp, full of beans but you have to believe in yourself and takes risks,” Whyte said. “Sometimes you have to take risks to get to the place you want to go. Anyway to cut a long story short, I believe in myself.”
Whyte is reported to have pushed himself as hard as can be in training camp, while it is hoped Allen will be doing the same thing over the coming weeks. Both men have, in a way, nothing to lose, this as pretty much nobody expects them to win.
Can Allen do it, though? And can Whyte? The odds say no, but neither warrior is listening.
Allen is currently 24-7-2(19) while Makhmudov is 19-2(18).
Whyte is currently 31-3(21) while Itauma is unbeaten at 12-0(10).
