There is nothing normal about Dave Allen’s career.
He’s followed no blueprint. He’s not been built into a ticket-seller gradually. He’s not built his record against no hopers and moved up in class. He’s lost to good fighters and then fought better fighters.
That is the case this weekend, when he takes on dangerous Croat Filip Hrgovic in Doncaster on Saturday.
He stopped Karim Berredjem in a round in February after a clear decision loss to Arslanbek Makhmudov last October.
Against Hrgovic, at the Keepmoat Stadium, in front of his hometown fans, Allen believes the pressure is off.
“I think I probably got more nervous with time,” Allen says about his fight week emotions through his career. “I don’t remember being that nervous early in my career… couple of fights I was nervous for, but looking back I weren’t really a nervous fighter. I never had a care in the world and as I’ve got a bit older I would say my nerves have been worse than they’ve ever been. It’s horrible. But I feel pretty relaxed about Saturday. I think I’m one of them where when a lot’s expected of me, I really can crumble under pressure sometimes but Filip Hrgovic, it is good for me that he’s a big favorite. I feel much much better about it. With the pressure off, I feel much better.
“The first [Johnny] Fisher fight, I felt no pressure. The Makhmudov fight I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders and I just fall to pieces to be honest.”
Allen sells himself short in that he was in there throwing punches until the end with the big Russian, having done what he always has and overcome the pre-fight nerves to take that haunting and lonely walk to the ring.
“In my career,” he reflects, “I never trained at all. When I fought Luis Ortiz, I’d not really trained for about six months. I didn’t have a care in the world, just youthful enthusiasm for fighting, really. I used to love it. I’m such a different man now. I’ve mellowed out a lot. When I were younger, I thought I was the baddest, hardest man in the world. But over time, with defeats, you kind of think, ‘Oh, I’m not sure anymore.’ I’ve mellowed out so much compared to my younger days, so the nerves stem from expectation, really, and it’s not the expectation like it’s not that everyone thinks I’m the best but [it’s because] everyone wants me to win. Sometimes I can get the better [of nerves], sometimes I just want it too bad and it kind of gets me. But this weekend, I don’t feel it. I feel like a massive underdog and I feel quite good.”
Allen does clarify, however, that he is not afraid once he is in the ring. The nerves stem from winning and losing. Sure, he doesn’t want to get hurt but that doesn’t cross his mind.
“I want to win so bad, even though I’ve lost eight times I still want to win,” Allen adds.
“I’ve been a winner all my life – until I started boxing the top ones. I’ve been a winner with everything I ever did and even with eight defeats behind me I still want to win really really bad, and every time I lose I’ll always smile and shake hands and congratulate the better man on the night. But it eats me up. It kills me to lose. I’ve never been a loser really, the fear really is just winning and losing. That’s all it comes down to for me. I don’t really care about anything else. It’s just the winning and losing. I want to win so bad not even just for me but for everyone really. I have a lot of support and I just want to win really bad.”
In the build up to Saturday’s fight, Allen’s trainer Jamie Moore shared a video of Allen on social media accompanied by the Frank Sinatra classic My Way.
That sums up Allen’s unique time in the sport.
“It’s been a mad career, really,” he admits. “I thought when I turned pro, I’d have a good career, I’d be a good fighter. Though, you know what? I turned over, I only had 10 amateur fights, I won the boys’ clubs and everyone was saying to me, ‘You’re going to be really good.’ Probably turned pro too early, but everyone said, ‘What a fighter he’s gonna be.’ I never really reached my potential as a fighter but I achieved more than I ever could have because of my personality. I feel like I’ve underachieved for my ability but then overachieved at the same time. It’s a really weird one. I don’t think my ability would have ever got me where I am now but I don’t think I’ve ever shown anything near the best of my ability at the same time.”
Even Allen confesses that Hrgovic is “way better” than Makhmudov, which in itself makes it a strange reward for his decision loss to the towering Russian.
Allen believes his best chance on Saturday is if Hrgovic comes at him and gives him opportunities to make a fight of it.
“If he tips and taps and boxes and moves, even I don’t give myself much chance to be honest,” he sighs.
Asked whether that means it could be the end of the Dave Allen journey in professional boxing, the 34-year-old “White Rhino” explains somewhat nonchalantly: “I never wanted to box. That was never my thing as a kid. I went to the boxing gym because I had nothing else to do. Where I was from, what was I going to do, really? We didn’t have anything. I didn't have any qualifications. I was going nowhere. The two options really were get yourself in trouble or go and work at a warehouse and go and do night shifts.”
But Allen started to box and realized he could do it. And despite the ups and down, he stuck with it, mostly because “it’s very difficult to leave it alone.”
Yet his relationship with the sport is indifferent at best and sways between love and hate.
Sure, he wanted to make his father – with whom he’s had a tumultuous relationship – proud when he started fighting.
“I won’t enjoy Saturday overly much to be honest,” he explains.
“I’ll hate Saturday. I’ll shit myself all day and then I’m gonna have a scrap with some big fucking Croatian fella. There’s nothing else I’d rather do but I’m dreading it. That’s the honest truth as well. I’m dreading it to be honest I’m dreading being there… I’ll be shaking like a shitting dog all day. All day, I’ll be snapping at me bird and I’m gonna go and fight and there’s a very good chance it’s not gonna go very well for me.”
But that’s enough of the fighting talk. Dave is fighting yet another Goliath and he is realistic about his chances. You can talk about life-changing money and opportunities but it takes a certain type of person to face up to a fighter and know it might not be your night and it’s going to hurt.
Sure, the chances of him winning are slim, but that won’t stop the Doncaster crowd from willing him on to what would be the unlikeliest of victories.
