David Allen believes Johnny Fisher is in for a 'troubled' night on Saturday at London’s Copper Box Arena.
They square off in a heavyweight clash that means more to the career of Fisher than Allen. Fisher is a heavyweight touted for big things, and was bulldozing through his opponents to the extent many believed he would do the same to Allen when they first met in December on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury II.
The main event was between the very best that the heavyweight division had to offer, and while Allen may have sparred both, he had become more peripheral. Allen was once one of British boxing’s most loved characters; Allen – or “The Doncaster De La Hoya” as he went by then – never turned down a fight, and although he rarely turned up in shape, he had some great nights in televised fights.
His career stalled considerably after his stoppage defeat by David Price in 2019. Allen received a sustained beating from the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist and was pulled out by his corner after 10 rounds. He was then taken to hospital on a stretcher, and received treatment for a spinal injury. A lackluster and controversial win over Dorian Darch in his return in 2020 left Allen considering retirement and back on the small-hall scene.
Allen was given another opportunity back on a bigger stage in 2023 against Frazer Clarke, but he again turned up out of shape. Clarke was well beating Allen, 33, but repeatedly landed low blows, and Allen was withdrawn after six rounds with a perforated eardrum. Allen was disappointed with his performance against Clarke, and claimed his grandfather didn’t speak to him for a while over it.
He was then given his opportunity to put the Clarke fight behind him against the 26-year-old Fisher in their first encounter and he certainly changed fans’ opinions of him. He turned up in the best shape in years and fought admirably for 10 rounds. Many thought Allen had done enough to beat Fisher after he registered a knockdown in round five, but the judges’ disagreed and awarded the contest to Fisher.
“I think he's in trouble, and he knows it,” Allen told BoxingScene. “He knows; Mark [Tibbs, his trainer] knows. It's not the right fight, but they'll try their best, and it will be a good fight. But I know too much.
“I think he's brave. It wouldn't be what I would be doing if I was looking after him. But he's brave; he's a good fighter. He's tough, and strong, and powerful. I just don't think it's the right fight at the right time. Could have been the right fight at the end of the year, but not next. I don't think he can improve enough in the time that he has.
‘I think he's really brave and I think the harder he tries, the worse it is for him. I've heard him saying things like, ‘Oh, I'm going to show no respect this time’, but come and fight me then. We'll see what happens. If he boxes me, it's going to be hard work. Hopefully he comes to fight me. I'd love that.”
Allen, then 23-6-2 (18 KOs), admitted to using some dark arts against the 12-fight novice during their first encounter. He would tell Fisher when to break and pretend to touch gloves before landing a shot. He also perhaps attempted to kill him with kindness during fight week, when he said: “If my son grows up to be half the man Johnny Fisher is, I'll be a happy man.”
“Genuinely meant that,” said Allen of that statement. “He's a nice kid. He's a very nice fella. I do like him, but the thing is, on the night, it didn't stop me trying to take his head off, did it? It doesn't need to be hostile, it doesn't need to be unfriendly – until the bell goes, and then it is.”
He then joked: “Then if I want a breather, I'll tell him to break.”
Their first fight led to the first time that Fisher has been dropped as a professional. Allen believes that the beating he put on Fisher that night will have lasting effects.
“It's not good for you – you don't get tougher by getting beat up,” he said. “You can prove your toughness, but you get less tough. So, people keep saying, ‘It's proved he's tough now’. Yeah, he has, but it ain't going to make him any tougher. It's going to make him less tough.
“I've chipped away at his resistance. He's very tough, and he'll continue to be tough for a long time because he's young. But going to the well and all this; I'm fucking living in the well. I've lived in there for years. I was the original him, do you know what I mean? And if he thinks my old-man tricks – if he thinks I used them all the first time – he’s mistaken because I've got a few left for him.”
Allen had a short-yet-successful amateur career, winning national titles before being recruited by Team GB alongside fellow heavyweight Anthony Joshua and later turning professional. Fisher had more amateur fights than Allen but achieved much less in that period.
“I don't think he's a natural boxer,” Allen said of Fisher. “It doesn't come natural to him. He's a hard kid – he's strong and powerful – but he's not a natural boxer. I'm a natural; I’m a good boxer. I'm fluent and fluid and a good mover. Fat bastard half the time, so I can't even do it. I'm the boxer out of the two. I am the natural talent out of the two. He's big and fit, and I'm smaller and not as fit.”