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Fisher vs. Allen 2: Dave Allen admits he 'fell out of love' with boxing, credits Johnny Fisher for re-igniting his passion
A controversial 10-round loss to Johnny Fisher last year sparked a passion for boxing inside Dave Allen.
The two British fighters squared off days before Christmas in a brutal heavyweight encounter on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury II, which ended in Fisher having his hand raised amid a chorus of boos from the crowd.
Fisher, the hard-hitting up-and-comer who had yet to taste defeat, was knocked down for the first time in his career by his opponent, seven years his elder. Allen was unable to capitalise on the fifth-round knockdown as Fisher completed the fight and earned a split decision victory that was not a popular decision with those in attendance or with observers watching live on DAZN, but while the 33-year-old lost the match he also discovered a desire to compete that Allen admits was missing through much of his career.
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Fast forward five months and the men are set to step into the ring once again, with a rejuventated Allen eager to right the perceived wrongs of the first fight but also to enjoy a sport he says wasn't his first choice.
"This is probably the first fight I’ve ever looked forward to really from starting out as a kid," Allen said at Wednesday's pre-fight press conference. "I never really wanted to box, but I wanted to box more than I wanted to go to work.
"So I went to the boxing gym like my Dad did, I did alright, and before you know it I’m boxing Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz, and it became unenjoyable as I was boxing the best heavyweights in the world as a novice, and it got really hard, I won a few and lost a few, and I completely fell out of love with it by the time the first fight with Johnny came around."
Despite the ill feelings he had towards boxing ahead of the first Fisher bout, Allen admitted that the back-and-forth slugfest was just what he needed to re-ignite an enjoyment of the sport that was not always present for him.
"Something just clicked that night, I don’t know what it was," Allen said. "I really enjoyed the 10 rounds we had, but at times I really didn’t.
"It’s taken me 17 years to think ‘I’ve got half an idea of what I am doing here’. This can’t come quick enough, and I can’t wait to get in there and box."
Fisher and Allen will fight as headliners at the Copper Box Arena in London, available live worldwide on DAZN.
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