Dave Allen makes a low-key ring return this month, but he’s aiming for bigger nights after that.
The fan-favourite heavyweight known as ‘White Rhino’ officially retired from the sport in 2019, citing a lack of desire to get punched as well as a concussive sparring session with heavyweight champ, Oleksandr Usyk.
He’s had three lower-level bouts since then, and is planning another on February 18 (opponent unknown as of writing) before getting back into the mix at domestic level at least.
Allen revealed to IFL TV that a fight for Fabio Wardley’s British title is there for the taking, and that he’s already spoken to promoter Eddie Hearn about it.
“After next week I could box Wardley April 1st. I’ve spoke to Ed. The Wardley fight is there on the Anthony Joshua undercard, it’d be great … It’d be nice to go back and fight on a Joshua card and all the rest of it, but if I box Wardley or box for the British title, I want to win it. How many more chances am I gonna get?”
Ipswich’s Wardley is 15-0 with 14 knockouts, and won the prestigious domestic belt against Nathan Gorman in November of 2022.
Allen went on to name another man in Joseph Parker as a potential opponent, before explaining his desire behind the high-level ring return.
“We’ll have a look. There’s Wardley, Parker. There’s loads of big fights out there. At this point now, I would like to win another big one. The [Lucas] Browne one was a big one … That should have been the one. That should’ve been enough for me to be happy, but it wasn’t, because I knew I wasn’t 100%.”
There’s no question he’s an attraction on the UK scene, so, if his comeback this month is successful, there’s almost certain to be a big name waiting on the other side. Whether or not he takes it at this stage will be up to him.
