Dave Allen v Arslanbek Makhmudov: 'Doncaster De La Hoya' dreading Sheffield bout after career resurrection
Doncaster’s comeback king Dave Allen does not speak like your average boxer.
That is largely because he is not your average boxer.
Just days out from a headline heavyweight bout against Arslanbek Makhmudov in Sheffield, he exuded charisma and charm in a wide-ranging interview with members of the media.
There were no clichés, bullish statements or WWE-esque barbs. Within minutes, he was speaking of the genuine fear Makhmudov instils in him.
By the end, he was explaining how his Football Manager game careers pan out in remarkable detail.
Allen is a wide open book and it is abundantly clear why fans have rallied around the ‘White Rhino’ as he resurrects his career.
Dave Allen’s nerves
"I'm s******g myself to be honest, really bad,” he said. “This fella's really dangerous.
“I've trained really hard. If I beat him, I have to be in conversations about being a very good fighter. I've always thought I could be, on my day. This is my day. I'm 33, I've trained hard.
"I'm nervous for two reasons. One, I think it's a dangerous fight. And two, if I lose, I'm not as good as I hoped I was.”
Two stellar performances against Matchroom prodigy Johnny Fisher have propelled Allen back into the spotlight.
Boxing is often an unforgiving sport and fighters clawing their way back from the wilderness is a rarity.
Beneath the 33-year-old’s humour there is humility and a raw honesty about the person he was, as well as the person he has become.
A fighter reborn
Allen has retained his vibrant personality but Makhmudov is facing a fighter refreshed and reborn.
"I'm an adult now," he said. “I've got kids, I look after my kids, I have an adult life and do normal things.
"From 16 until about 28, boxing was too hard for me mentally. It did a lot of good things for me but if I had my time again, I'd have just gone and done something completely different with my time. I couldn't handle it. It was really hard. If I had my time again, I wouldn't box. I would have done something else.
"I can't afford to go off the rails now. I have kids. I used to go of the rails all the time. My partner would leave me.”
Allen has been assured he will not be cast aside if he loses to Makhmudov, but the carrot of a potential follow-up battle with Deontay Wilder has been dangled.
Deontay Wilder talk
The ‘Doncaster De La Hoya’ is happy to discuss pretty much anything and everything – but talk of Wilder is deemed premature.
“I can’t even think about Wilder," he admitted. “Makhmudov actually scares me. I think I’ve boxed better fighters. I think [Luis] Ortiz was better. I think the [Tony] Yoka I boxed was better. David Price was a better boxer.
“People keep saying to me, ‘Makhmudov’s going to fall over when you hit him in the body’. [Agit] Kabayel belted him about 60 times to the body. Like, [as if they’re saying] ‘one of those ones, it’s going to be over’.
"I’m dreading Saturday, dreading it. I can’t even think about Wilder. I’m dreading it. I’m s******g myself. I hope he’s not massive. I look at it from the outside, looking in. I’m well up against it. But we know how to beat him.”
The challenge ahead
Makhmudov has lost twice in the past two years, yet Allen could have certainly picked much easier fights.
The Russian, simply nicknamed ‘Lion’, stands two-and-a-half inches taller than Allen. He has spoken openly of wrestling bears and taking a sledgehammer to the midriff to condition his imposing frame.
Many fighters would head towards such an opponent with a stiff upper lip and some classic steeliness. Allen, however, made little effort to build his own profile.
"I don't punch very hard,” Allen said. “I've a few knockouts but I boxed a lot of s**t early in my career. I'm not a big puncher, I've got really short arms, but I'm a really clever boxer.”
Allen’s career is firmly back on track and tickets for his Utilita Arena battle tonight have sold well.
More importantly, a man who has faced demons in the past has a new lease of life.
"I can’t believe it,” he said. “I wake up every morning, it takes me a good 30 seconds to get downstairs. That’s how big it (his house) is.
"And then I get downstairs and I’ve got two kids and they’re wonderful lookers. I have a normal life and I could never imagine having a normal life.
"I'm a weird guy. Even my kids don't sit in the room with me because they know I'm a weirdo. But it's a good life - and I'm happy with it."