Dave Allen to Fight Filip Hrgovic Next After Extending Matchroom Contract

Alan Dawson
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Dave Allen to Fight Filip Hrgovic Next After Extending Matchroom Contract

Dave Allen and Filip Hrgovic have their next fight booked as Queensberry Promotions confirmed the bout is officially set for Saturday, May 16, at the ECO Power Stadium in Doncaster, England, atop a card DAZN will air worldwide.

The news follows Allen extending his contract with Matchroom, as reported by the Brentwood-based boxing promoter.

Allen, a 34-year-old prizefighter with a pro record of 25 (20 KOs) against eight losses and two draws, has shared the ring with Luis Ortiz, Tony Yoka, Frazer Clarke, Johnny Fisher, and Arslanbek Makhmudov, and, as he’s lost to all but Fisher in that list, a fight against Hrgovic is yet another tough challenge — one, perhaps, offset slightly by having home advantage.

“This is everything I’ve wanted,” Allen said. “A big fight, at home, in front of my own people. Nights like this don’t come around often, and I’m not letting it pass me by.”

“I know how tough Hrgovic is, but I believe in myself and I’ll be ready to give Doncaster a night to remember.”

Promoter Frank Warren said: “May 16 will be a magical experience for Dave Allen [as] he is taking on a world-class operator in Filip Hrgovic, but he gets to do it on his own doorstep at [soccer team] Doncaster Rovers.

“This will be a huge occasion for the city of Doncaster and for the fans who have backed Dave throughout his career.”

Against Hrgovic, Allen will be taking on a fighter a bronze Olympic medalist from the 2016 Games who went on to beat the likes of Amir Mansour, Eric Molina, Zhilei Zhang, Joe Joyce, and David Adeleye — losing only to Daniel Dubois by eighth-round knockout.

Hrgovic’s experience against UK fighters is not lost on Warren, who expects Allen to be a wide underdog.

“Filip has got into a habit of beating British heavyweights, so this really is a ‘Dave vs Goliath’ battle,” he said.

The news comes amid an Allen contract extension, as Matchroom secures the futures of some of its top talents.

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Alan Dawson is Boxing Social's editor. He is also a columnist for Uncrowned at Yahoo Sports, and the founder-moderator of Boxing Twitter — a 20,000-strong community on X. A 17-year sports media veteran, Alan has enjoyed extensive stints at Business Insider as a correspondent, BT Sport as digital editor, and Give Me Sport as combat sports editor. He is a 2-time Sports Journalist of the Year finalist and has been honored six times by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Alan grew up near London but is based in Nevada with his young family. Outside boxing he plays 8-handicap golf, hikes, and rides his ebike through the Sierra mountain trails.

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