Fan favourite heavyweight, Dave Allen, will return to the ring in February to put himself in the mix for ‘a big fight.’
Allen announced retirement from the sport in November 2020 after a particularly brutal sparring session with World Heavyweight Champion, Oleksandr Usyk. Since then, ‘The Doncaster De La Hoya’ has fought twice at a much lower level.
With a record of 20 wins – 17 by knockout – and 5 losses, Allen has said in the past the boxing has given him a life he could ‘never have dreamed of.’
He reached the pinnacle of his career so far by headlining London’s O2 Arena and entertaining fans with a body shot KO of Lucas Browne.
When announcing his leave from the sport, Allen said that he had lost the passion for taking punches.
“The reason for me calling it a day is simple – I don’t want to get punched anymore. Long gone are the days of the kid from donny who just wants to fight. All I want now is a nice quiet life with a wife and some kids, healthy and happy, getting nice and fat.”
Now a father, ‘The White Rhino’ has had a change of heart and is back to taking boxing seriously. He recently announced on Instagram that he would return on a Fight Academy card in Sheffield on February 18.
His opponent for the event is yet to be announced, but a victory will see him calling out names like Nathan Gorman and Fabio Wardley. Allen then showed off an impressive weight loss transformation.
Since stepping away from fighting, Allen has trained, mentored and managed fighters including Stevi Levy and Danny Murrell.
Having come up short against the likes of Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz, Tony Yoka, and David Price, the popular fighter will be confident of bringing entertainment to the domestic heavyweight scene in the near future.