When is Dave Allen vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov?
Dave Allen vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov is on Saturday, October 11.
The main broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST). A preliminary undercard will start at 11:30 a.m. ET (4:30 p.m. BST).
What channel is Dave Allen vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov on?
Dave Allen vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov will stream on DAZN.
Where is Dave Allen vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov?
The fight is taking place at Utilita Arena Sheffield in Sheffield, England.
Who is Dave Allen?
Allen, 24-7-2 (19 KOs), is a 6-foot-3 heavyweight who resuscitated his career following a pair of fights with Johnny Fisher – a very close split decision loss last December avenged by a decisive fifth-round stoppage win in May.
Allen had retired once before and considered retiring again heading into the first meeting with Fisher. He turned pro in 2012, lost a pair of fights in 2016 to Dillian Whyte (UD10) and Luis Ortiz (TKO7) and dropped a split decision in 2017 to the 20-4 Lenroy Thomas. In 2018, Allen was dispatched in the 10th round by Tony Yoka, an Olympic gold medalist who has underwhelmed in the paid ranks.
But Allen put together a four-match win streak, including a third-round body shot KO of Lucas Browne in 2019. That landed him a bout three months later with David Price, who battered Allen so badly that he was taken out of the ring on a stretcher. By the end of 2020, Allen considered the damage he’d taken, as well as a frightening moment in a sparring session with Oleksandr Usyk, and decided to hang up his gloves.
As often happens, the retirement didn’t last. Allen came back in August 2021 and picked up three victories over no-hopers before taking on Frazer Clarke in September 2023. That fight ended after six rounds due to Allen suffering a busted eardrum. In 2014, Allen added two more wins against foes with a combined record of 10-39.
He was then going to be fed to Fisher, an undefeated prospect. Instead, Allen summoned his experience and showed that he wasn’t quite done yet, especially against someone as flawed as Fisher. Allen dropped Fisher in the fifth and had to settle for the short end from two of the three judges. He didn’t let the rematch go to the scorecards. And now the 33-year-old “White Rhino” will headline in Sheffield, England, a home game for the resident of Conisbrough.
Who is Arslanbek Makhmudov?
Makhmudov, 20-2 (19 KOs), is a heavyweight who stands just shy of 6-foot-6 in stature but has fallen short when stepping up his level of competition.
The 36-year-old is from Russia and lives in Montreal, Canada, where he’s competed for most of his pro career. Makhmudov debuted in 2017 and ran off 18 straight victories, including stoppages of Jonathan Rice (TKO7), a long-faded Samuel Peter (TKO1), Mariusz Wach (KO6), Carlos Takam (UD10) and the previously unbeaten Raphael Akpejiori (TKO2).
But in 2023, Makhmudov took on Agit Kabayel and was dropped three times en route to a fourth-round TKO loss. Kabayel is now regarded as one of the top heavyweight contenders, so that defeat might not sting as much in hindsight.
More damaging, however, was Makhmudov’s eighth-round stoppage loss in August 2024 against the 12-2-1 Guido Vianello, who shut Makhmudov’s left eye until it was too dangerous for the fight to continue.
Makhmudov spent about 10 months away before returning this past June, needing less than two minutes to dispatch the 12-0 Ricardo Brown.
What other fights are on the undercard of Dave Allen vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov?
The undercard includes Josh Padley vs. Reece Bellotti and a rematch between Junaid Bostan and Bilal Fawaz.
Padley, 16-1 (5 KOs), is fighting for the second time since stepping in as a late replacement to challenge lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson in February. Body shots put Padley on the canvas thrice in that fight en route to a ninth-round TKO loss. Padley returned in April with a fifth-round stoppage of the 13-0 Marko Cvetanovic. But instead of remaining at 135lbs, Padley has dropped down to junior lightweight for this match.
Bellotti, 20-6 (15 KOs), has topped out at the European level. He’d suffered three straight losses while competing at featherweight: decisions dropped to the 12-1-1 Francesco Grandelli in 2019 and the 24-1 Jordan Gill in 2020, and a third-round TKO to a young Raymond Ford in 2021. Bellotti then moved up to 130lbs and earned six consecutive victories before losing a 12th-round TKO this past July to the unbeaten Ryan Garner.
Bostan, 10-0-1 (8 KOs), and Fawaz, 9-1-1 (3 KOs), are junior middleweights who fought to a draw in January. BoxingScene’s Tom Ivers, in his deadline piece, believed Fawaz deserved the decision.
The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
