Exclusive:Dave Allen v Thomas Carty: Doncaster heavyweight could emulate Katie Taylor with Croke Park farewell
Dave Allen speaks to The Yorkshire Post ahead of his Croke Park showdown with Thomas Carty
Katie Taylor may not be the only boxer bidding farewell to the grand stage in Dublin tonight.
The 82,300-capacity Croke Park will stage the final fight of a glittering career for Taylor, and may also be the location of Dave Allen’s final high-profile bout.
Doncaster’s affable heavyweight is set to lock horns with Thomas Carty (11-1), who could bring an end to Allen’s Indian summer.
Dave Allen’s career claim
“I know I'm alright,” Allen told The Yorkshire Post. “I know I'm not great, but I know I'm not bad.
“The level I think I'm at, I should beat Carty. If I can’t, it's probably time to call it a day if I'm not competing at the level that I once was.”
In a later press conference, the 34-year-old was even more forthright regarding his future.
“If I lose this fight, I will retire,” he said. “I’ll have one more to get to 40.
“We’ll go back local and have one more and retire. So this is it. If I lose this one, it’s over.”
Dave Allen ticking over
Since being dispatched of with relative ease by Filip Hrgovic in May, Allen has bounced back with low-profile wins over Dan Garber and Ross McGuigan.
They have helped to keep Allen’s head in the game after an Eco-Power Stadium headline bout that did not go his way.
“I've had two fights last eight weeks, so that's helped me be a bit more confident in the gym,” he said. “I've been consistent with my training now since the first [Johnny] Fisher fight, so I'm definitely fit.
“If I hadn’t have had that fight straight after, I'd probably be about 25 stone now. I just have to do things a bit unorthodox, but I have to do things sometimes just to keep myself straightened out.
“I wanted to box in Doncaster again, just to put in a few bad feelings to bed, really, for me. Anyone thinking I'm not fit, if someone's starting to think that, [they] could be very mistaken.”