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Allen saluted by elegiac spirits as Hrgovic leaves Doncaster in dust
In the end, neither Filip Hrgovic nor the weather could dampen Doncaster's love for Dave Allen, a full-throated roar to the last.
It is rare to see the vanquished fighter linger in the ring long after the victor has departed, so often whisked away from the limelight.
But then again, 'The White Rhino' has never been just another boxer around these parts, not just another name on the undercard.
Allen is more than that. In this corner of the world, the man dubbed the 'Doncaster De La Hoya' has longed earned cult affections.
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In a sense, the result of his bout with Hrgovic - a three-round defeat, called when the towel was thrown in - was always immaterial.
It was the spectacle of the moment, and the weight behind it, that perhaps mattered more for the man and this place that he inhabits.
Allen soaks in elegiac hymn for local hero
Ahead of his bout, Allen spoke candidly on his emotions, how he woke up that day and cried as everything hit him like a freight train.
He is far from the only big name to emerge from the shadow of the M18. He was school pals with One Direction star Louis Tomlinson.
But Doncaster is, and always has been, home to him, perhaps in a way the city's other luminaries have sometimes shied away from.
It is a faith in this place, off the Isles of Axholme, that was repaid tenfold on Saturday night at the Eco-Power Stadium by its citizens.
From midway down the undercard to when the monolithic stage canopy was finally dismantled, they sung Allen's name with gusto.
When the star entered to Eva Cassidy and Frank Sinatra, to Fields of Gold and My Way, they gave him their sweat, blood and lungs.
When he swung in the first, then the second and the third, pressed fast against the ropes, they gave him their hopes and their dreams.
And when he finally bowed out, the oddly elegiac tone of this moment compounded at last, they gave him their love and their tears.
Hrgovic eschews mood to stoke title claims
If the sentimentalism on show was too much for some though, then at least they were rewarded with an avatar of no-nonsense belief.
A fighter with more of a showman's eye might have been more willing to entertain a longer contest than the straight-shooting Hrgovic.
At the very least, the Croatian was game enough to play second fiddle against a journeyman far below him on the heavyweight stage.
Queensberry/Leigh Dawney
Yet that would only go so far. Allen may have had his name first on promotional material, but it was his foe given the final introduction.
It is to Hrgovic's credit that he did not wait around in a bout that many ultimately saw as a low-risk filler, a bout to kill time in the ring.
He prowled from the opening salvo and repeatedly put Allen against the ropes, testing his chin and backing away from the counters.
With the spectre of Moses Itauma looming on the horizon, here was a man who knew that he needed to stoke his title claims again.
Doing so meant switching off from the mood, ensuring party-pooper status is secured. For that, Hrgovic can take some sturdy credit.
Contrasting paths may still lead to glory
In the ring afterwards, with embraces exchanged, both men found themselves pressed on their future plans, their silverware hopes.
For Hrgovic, the pursuit of world champion status is paramount. 'El Animal' has long been dilligently convinced by his own capacities.
The Itauma bout is a gamble, but one that he needs. Topple the fast-rising superstar-in-waiting, and his own stock will triple overnight.
Should it not materialise, Hrgovic still cannot afford to be inactive. His insistence that he will fight anyone rings authentically true here.
For Allen though, the question over whether he refocuses his Lonsdale Belt pursuits seemed to give an emotional star pause for thought.
Queensberry/Leigh Dawney
At one point last year, it appeared that a shot at the British crown was within reach, before Arslanbek Makhmudov entered in Sheffield.
The same play-by-play appeared to unfold earlier this year too, before Hrgovic emerged as the golden ticket for the Eco-Power Stadium.
It is unlikely that Allen's promoters will find him a third world-level golden goose for a South Yorkshire night under the bright lights again.
But if they do, perhaps that chapter is done. At thirty-four the legacy of a domestic crown is not only the feasible target, but the right one too.
Doncaster repaid Dave Allen's faith in them this weekend. Maybe now, 'The White Rhino' can deliver them one more trick before he goes.
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