SHEFFIELD, England – Dave Allen has had a rollercoaster of a career heading into his biggest test yet this Saturday at Utilita Arena in Sheffield, UK.
Allen will make the short trip from his home in Doncaster, UK, a few miles away to top the bill against Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov, 20-2 (19 KOs). Saturday’s fight represents a high point in a career that has had its fair few twists and turns. Allen, 24-7-2 19 KOs), has walked away from the sport multiple times, only to be pulled back in and have one more roll of the dice.
His most recent of comebacks has finally seen the 33-year-old Allen take the sport seriously and pick up the win of his career, a fifth-round knockout of Johnny Fisher back in May. Defeating Makhmudov will open doors that Allen once thought were bolted shut. Allen will land lucrative opportunities should he be victorious, and would fight one of the division’s big names. But although he is within touching distance of his biggest moment and life-changing money, he already has one eye on the exit door.
“I can't fucking wait [to retire],” Allen jokingly told BoxingScene. “I'm gonna get fat as fuck, I'm gonna come to all these events with fucking media and with my fighters. I'm just gonna fucking chill the fuck out. I can't wait.”
Now one may think that Allen, known for his pranks, was jesting ahead of the biggest fight of his life. But when asked if he was serious, it became clear there was meaning behind his words.
“Yeah, because I love boxing, but after 33 hard fights – and a lot of them have been fucking hard – God, get me home, man,” he replied with a hint of humor, but only a hint. “I'm tired, I'm sore, I've had some hard fights. I might get my nose done. I just want to fucking chill out. Yeah, I love boxing, but I fucking hate it as well. It's a hard game.”
The exit door is normally a daunting thought for most fighters, with many refusing to look too far ahead and forgetting there will come a time where they must look elsewhere to earn a living. Allen, however, already has plans in place to fill his time.
“That's why I started doing the coaching and managing, because I knew when I left boxing, I'd be fucked,” Allen said. “I knew I'd be fucked. I've set myself up after boxing now, [some] punditry, hopefully. I did a little bit on talkSPORT, the commentary for Usyk-Dubois II.
“I've got two fighters I train and manage on the show [on Saturday]. Yeah, I should be all right. I've got a fucking beautiful gaff. You should see it, man. So hopefully it will be all right, but if boxing finished tomorrow, and I was going to work 9-to-5 till I was 70, I'd be quite happy to now, to be honest. I've done enough, yeah, I've done enough. I've had a fucking great time.”
Tom Ivers is an amateur boxer who has a masters degree in sports journalism. He had his first bout in 2013, joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.