Dave Allen: Beyond The Ropes

Dave Allen: Beyond The Ropes

Once you come down from the emotional rollercoaster of that titanic world heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois, you start to dig a little deeper. It is a sport. An incredibly brutal one. It carries imminent danger to those incredible awe-inspiring gladiators who do it for our entertainment. It was those immense risks that were on my mind for most of the immediate aftermath. Most of those thoughts were in the direction of Fabio Wardley. His precious and valuable WBO heavyweight bauble was no more. The unbeaten record gone. I wondered at what cost the loss of that unbeaten record came at.

Wardley was brave. In truth, far too brave. Another night where he soaked up an avalanche of punches. Wardley somehow, miraculously so, never went down. But those solid heavy shots from Dubois will likely leave their mark. Career shortening, but what happens further down the road?

It’s not the first time Wardley has had to go deep. The first Frazer Clarke fight. Maybe an even more savage fight. The wars with Justis Huni and Joseph Parker were two more nights where Wardley had to find something from deep within. Even Wardley can only take so much.

I have that same worrying feeling this weekend for Dave Allen. The likeable perennial heavyweight hopeful gets another golden opportunity this weekend in Doncaster. A hometown gig against another opponent who is almost a sure thing to beat him. Filip Hrgovic is the latest world-class heavyweight who will get the opportunity to inflict yet another defeat on Allen’s mixed record.

Like Wardley, Allen has had tough nights at the office. The 34-year-old has eight defeats on his resume. Matched hard. Too hard in truth for his ability. Far too many times, Allen didn’t give himself a chance of victory.

There was a brief retirement in 2020. After a fight with David Price, Allen left the ring on a stretcher. Allen said that moment scared him. Sparring with Oleksandr Usyk was another catalyst for that retirement call at the age of 28. But like many, he couldn’t stay away.

Allen struggled in the early days of his ‘comeback’, but those two fights with Johnny Fisher changed the trajectory of his career. Allen was given a chance against Arslanbek Makhmudov. Allen had a few moments but was widely outpointed in Sheffield. Allen sees that as a missed opportunity. He might be right. But there have been plenty of those down the years. Allen has ability. Just how much, we still don’t know. His application to his trade has let him down on far too many occasions. But surely the fight against Hrgovic this weekend is a case of now or never.

“This is the one,” Allen says of his latest attempt to gatecrash the world heavyweight title picture. If the career is to go on, it might have to be. But would it be better if his career didn’t go on past Saturday night?

The defeat to Makhmudov again highlighted certain limitations. The reward is a fight with an even better fighter. It has the look of a reckless piece of matchmaking, but Allen sees it differently. Hrgovic can be a little off at times. He might be looking at what lies ahead. If he is, Allen might be in the right place at the right time. But he looks like has it all to do. Again.

Hrgovic is 1/9 to win. The odds suggest he will win with some degree of comfort. But will this be the night Dave Allen finally gets it right at this lofty level? But the worry for some might be what happens if Dave Allen does win this time. Where will that take him? There are obvious concerns. If not, there should be.

Allen has made significant money in his last few fights. Nobody can begrudge him that. And Allen has another night where, hopefully, his financial future can be secured. I want fighters to get rich. They sure deserve every single penny that they earn. But I want them to enjoy their money in retirement.

For me, it’s not about winning or losing for Allen. The last few rounds of Wardley and Dubois were deeply uncomfortable. This whole fight has a ring of that about it. I do worry about the health of fighters. Not now, but in the years to come. It would be nice if a few more in the sport share those concerns. You have to know when to stop.

Wardley has triggered his rematch clause with Dubois. Derek Chisora wants to box again. Allen, regardless of what happens in Doncaster on Saturday night, will likely fight on. At some point, all three will reach the point of no return. Hopefully, they will realise it before that day comes. Sometimes there comes a point when enough is enough.

Photo Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney