It’s Groundhog Day for Dave Allen — but this time feels different

A veteran of the boxing press confessed beside me, his voice barely above the low hum of London’s O2 Arena: “I feel sick.”

He traced the sign of the cross on his chest, eyes tilting heavenward — not in faith, but in fragile hope.

The air inside the arena was thick enough to taste. Nerves frayed. Hearts hammered. Somewhere in the crowd, laughter still flickered, but even that carried an edge. Dave Allen was on his way for his 23rd ringwalk, his chance to rewrite his career script.

He chose “Fields of Gold” by Eva Cassidy, a song so delicate it felt almost cruel in this setting of fists and fury. Each note hung in the rafters as Allen made his slow commute to the ring, where Australia’s Lucas Browne waited in silence, gloves resting at his sides.

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It was April 2019, and this one wasn’t a novelty or a sideshow. This was Dave Allen’s night.

By then, the “White Rhino” had already built something rare in boxing — a cult of honesty. He spoke openly about the darkness that shadowed him: addiction, depression, nights that blurred into mornings and an acceptance that all he had in his life was boxing.

That vulnerability, raw and unscripted, made people care. On this night, it felt like the whole arena was holding its breath for him.

Dave Allen (left) takes a big risk stepping into the ring with Arslanbek Makhmudov this Saturday in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images)

(Mark Robinson via Getty Images)

Allen won, stopping the Australian after three rounds with a beautifully crafted left hand to the body. But on a night when his career reached new heights, his demons remained.

In the eyes of Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport, this was the last roll of the dice playing the Dave Allen board game. The promotion had benefited greatly from his affable nature and ability to shift tickets, as well as his viral interviews. But time and time again, when given a big stage to perform, he had come up short.

This win over Browne had catapulted Allen up a level. Next, he landed on a square occupied by Olympic bronze medalist David Price.

Price dominated Allen in a one-sided fight exactly three months after the victory over Browne, and the then-27-year-old all but conceded defeat in his quest for boxing glory. Hearn admitted he didn’t want to see Allen box again.

“I’d love to keep fighting but after a few weeks I will sit down and decide is it really worth it [sic],” Allen wrote on Twitter.

“I don’t want anyone to worry about me, I’m just a hard man gone old and soft in the last 18 months. I will be okay, but the last 12 months or so my health has been deteriorating and I’m glad I hung on, took the chance and made money and now I’m probably done.

“I’m not big enough or good enough — that’s what hurts most.”

Fast-forward six years and Dave Allen (24-7-2, 19 KOs) is once again headlining a show, looking to ride the crest of a wave he has created.

Two more losses, and many more internal battles, have been added to the record of Allen since his destruction at the hands of Price. One came at the hands of Frazer Clarke. Another, somewhat controversially, came against Johnny Fisher. But his rebuilds have been formed on a foundation of passion and determination rather than necessity. Allen has cited the passing of his beloved grandmother as the biggest catalyst to the changes in his life.

Concerns about his health still remain across the boxing fraternity, but with Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis in his corner, faith can be put in an experienced outfit that will have Allen’s safety as a priority.

“I feel like recently, for the last six, nine months, he trusts me now, and getting Dave Allen to trust someone is like trying to get a man to walk on Mars,” Moore told Boxing News.

“It’s a hard job to do. Especially what happened in Saudi [in the closer loss to Fisher]. I said to him [what] would happen if he followed through with it [and it] played out. In interviews, he said: ‘I don’t trust anyone. But if Jamie tells me to do something, I trust him.’ That’s probably the biggest compliment I could ever be paid because I know how much it takes for Dave Allen to say that about someone.”

Whether Allen shares that same trust in his temporary promoter, Eddie Hearn, is an entirely different matter. He says he “likes” Hearn more these days, attributing this change of heart to “understanding the game” more than when he previously fought under the Matchroom banner.

Hearn’s decision to throw Allen in with big-punching, bear-wrestling Arslanbek Makhmudov (20-2, 19 KOs) this weekend has been billed, and priced, as a 50-50 contest. But Allen’s record comes up very short when comparing his wins to anyone of the stature of the once-feared Russian.

Makhmudov has losses on his own record. Agit Kabayel and Giudo Vianello were able to chop down the proverbial tree, but the 36-year-old isn’t being fed to Allen like Browne was in 2019. Allen admits that he’s scared of Makhmudov, as any sane human should be. Surely nothing can be as scary as where Allen found himself a few years ago, adrift in boxing’s wilderness.

Deontay Wilder is being earmarked as Allen’s next opponent if he is able to come through the challenge of Makhmudov. Perhaps even Anthony Joshua could be a future opponent. But much like Allen’s life, each step should be taken with patience, care and love.

Every Dave Allen event post-2019 is a bonus, something unexpected. It should be treated as such, and importantly, not exploited. He admits he is “lucky” to find himself with these opportunities again, out to prove he isn’t just a gimmick. Now, with a family by his side, he insists he won’t take anything for granted in the bloodthirsty world of boxing.

There will certainly be feelings at ringside similar to those hovering in the air that night 2019. Palms will sweat as Allen walks to the roar of the Sheffield faithful, but this time, perhaps softened by a belief that a safety net exists to catch Allen for whatever follows — in victory or defeat. And that’s a beautiful thing.