After years of building a following across England and drawing fans to Manchester, Sheffield, and other fight outposts, Dave Allen is heading home.

Allen will face Filip Hrgovic on May 16 at Eco-Power Stadium in his hometown of Doncaster in a bill that will be broadcast on DAZN, promoter Queensberry announced Friday.

A press conference will be held on Tuesday at 2 p.m. (local time) in Doncaster, where the fighters will discuss the matchup and face off for the first time.

“This is everything I’ve wanted,” Allen said. “A big fight, at home, in front of my own people. Nights like this don’t come around often, and I’m not letting it pass me by. I know how tough Hrgovic is, but I believe in myself and I’ll be ready to give Doncaster a night to remember.”

Allen, 25-8-2 (20 KOs), has become one of the UK’s most popular fighters despite falling just short of world level throughout his career. He has some notable defeats – to Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz a decade ago, and to Frazer Clarke and Johnny Fisher more recently – but also has notched some solid wins along the way, including a stoppage of Fisher in their rematch last May.

At 35, “The White Rhino” may not get another chance to put on a show of this magnitude in front of his hometown fans.  

“May 16 will be a magical experience for Dave Allen,” said Queensberry’s Frank Warren. “He is taking on a world-class operator in Filip Hrgovic, but he gets to do it on his own doorstep at Doncaster Rovers.

“This will be a huge occasion for the city of Doncaster and for the fans who have backed Dave throughout his career.”

Hrgovic, 19-1 (14 KOs), whose only career defeat came in a 2024 stoppage loss to future heavyweight titleholder Daniel Dubois, likely represents the stiffest challenge Allen will have faced in a decade. Hrgovic, a 33-year-old from Zagreb, Croatia, has wins over Zhilei Zhang and – in his previous two starts – Joe Joyce and David Adeleye.

Allen wasn’t able to sustain the momentum he gained in his knockout of Fisher when he met (and fell to) Arslanbek Makhmudov at Sheffield Arena last October. But his return to Doncaster – Allen has fought there just once, and not since 2015 – and a draw of this magnitude, against a heavyweight contender in Hrgovic, should make their main event an attraction.

“Filip has got into a habit of beating British heavyweights,” Warren said, “so this really is a ‘Dave vs Goliath’ battle.”