In Saudi Arabia, Dave Allen and Johnny Fisher put on a scrap reminiscent of a late-night pub brawl back home.
This was a messy and unpolished fight, offering flashes of entertainment but little finesse—more akin to two lads settling a grudge after a few too many. Fisher is incredibly fortunate to have escaped with his unbeaten record still intact, while Allen has every reason to feel aggrieved.
Two judges scored the fight 95-94 in favour of the Romford Bull, but the 96-93 verdict for Allen appeared to be a more fair assessment of this 10-round contest.
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The Doncaster man’s corner was aggrieved. Fisher can put it down as a learning experience but this bout showed a lot of deficiencies, even if he did extend his record to 13 wins from as many fights. Allen suffered a seventh defeat, he has often been heavily beaten but not this time.
Fisher came into the fight as a red-hot favourite, expected to put on a show against a heavyweight in Allen who was supposed to be well past his best. The Romford Bull against the White Rhino. They promised it would be a thriller but, while it brought some spills, it wasn’t an example of the best of heavyweight boxing.
Fisher, 25, has been backed by promoter Matchroom thanks to his story and following. A Romford boy who brings his Bosh Army around with him and a Chinese-takeaway eating dad who is a social media star in this weird modern world.
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But all the noise outside of the ring matters little if you can’t deliver inside of it. This was a performance to suggest Fisher has a long way to go even to get to British title level.
Allen, at 32, was a surprise pick to face Fisher as many felt his days in the ring should be over after big losses and struggles outside of the sport. The first round looked like this would only go one way with Fisher dominating the opening three minutes. He was cleverly targeting the body and it wasn’t a hard target to miss.
But there were a couple of warning signs in the second when the White Rhino had success. Yet he finished the round being hurt by a right. It was scrappy and low on quality through the first four rounds. Both men looked jaded as the bell for the fifth went. Then it exploded into life when a left hook from Allen hurt Fisher and a cuffing right hand sent him over.
Allen, who has shared the ring with the likes of Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz, Frazer Clarke and David Price, went for the finish but couldn’t find it as Fisher survived. This was a sign that getting excited about the Romford Bull beating up Alen Babic inside a round was a touch of getting carried away.
Allen took over the fight in the second half, he couldn’t miss with left hooks and right uppercuts. Fisher often looked out on his feet, the prospect managed a couple of good rights which rocked Allen. But it didn’t deter Allen from plodding forward and Fisher looked starved of ideas.
Maybe Allen didn’t do enough in the last, Fisher landed a right hand that was the standout shot of the final three minutes. But the Doncaster man can still feel annoyed that he was denied a great comeback tale with a mighty upset. It should still be back to the drawing board for Fisher.
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