| Dave Allen dared to be great against Arslanbek Makhmudov but ultimately fell short of a fairytale ending in front of an incredible crowd on an unforgettable night at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
Allen was afforded a special atmosphere by the 9000 fans in attendance and he had them in raptures as he delivered an early onslaught against the man mountain Makhmudov.
But Makhmudov managed to withstand the heavy pressure from the popular Yorkshire fighter and eventually stun the partisan crowd when he was awarded an unanimous points victory with the judges scoring the bout 115-111, 116-110 and 117-109 all in favour of the 6ft 7in behemoth, despite him having two points deducted for holding.
Makhmudov was quick to hail Allen for his heroic display – and immediately turned his attention to calling out two-time Heavyweight World Champion Anthony Joshua to face him next.
“Anthony Joshua, where are you? I’m coming for you,” said Makhmudov.
“I’ve already spoken with him and he gave me his word that he will fight me next year. I’m ready.
“I respect Dave Allen. He has a crazy chin. I haven’t seen anything like this in my life. He is a lion.”
Doncaster’s Allen insisted he is far from finished, however, after paying tribute to the fans who supported him so brilliantly on the night.
Speaking to Jamie Ward live on DAZN, Allen said: “Nights like that, how can I leave it alone?”
“I’ve never, ever seen anything like it. I nearly cried. I had to really choke it all back a bit on the ramp. I’m not finished.
“He [Makhmudov] was too big and too good. I’ve never been hit like that in my life. He hurt me five or six times and Jamie [Moore] wanted to pull me out with two rounds to go, but I was always going to see the final bell. I’m not a quitter.
“He’s top 20 in the world and I’m not. It’s as simple as that. I just wasn’t good enough.”
There was disappointment too for Junaid Bostan as he tasted the first defeat of his career when the youngster fell to a majority decision defeat in a pulsating battle with Bilal Fawaz, who claimed the vacant English Super Welterweight Championship.
Josh Padley’s step up to Super Featherweight was a successful one as he edged experienced Reece Bellotti with a unanimous points victory.
Fighting in front of his home faithful, all three judges scored the bout in the Yorkshireman’s favour 99-92, 97-93, 97-93 as he captured the WBA International belt in the process.
Hamza Uddin celebrated a fantastic fifth round stoppage over Paul Roberts to land the WBA International & English Flyweight Titles.
The Walsall fighter dropped Roberts three times with devastating body blows to force his team to throw in the towel and leave youngster Uddin jumping for joy.
Rising Super Featherweight prospect Ibraheem Sulaimaan extended his unbeaten record to 9-0 with a points victory over James Chereji.
Light Heavyweight Conner Tudsbury looked impressive in only his third professional outing with a fourth-round TKO over Khalid Graidia.
And there were points victories in the Prelims for both of Dave Allen’s young charges Joe Hayden and Joe Howarth over Angelo Drogone and Karl Sampson respectively. |
English