Russian heavyweight giant Arslanbek Makhmudov made an impressive comeback with a clear points victory over British crowd favorite Dave Allen.
Arslanbek Makhmudov made an impressive comeback with a convincing points win over Dave Allen at the Sheffield Arena. The Russian heavyweight clearly prevailed against the British crowd favorite on Saturday evening, securing an important victory after a difficult few years.
Allen (24-8-2, 19 knockouts) came into the ring with plenty of confidence after celebrating a spectacular knockout victory over local rival Johnny Fisher in May. However, the Yorkshireman was unable to find a recipe against the physically superior Makhmudov (21-2, 19 knockouts). The Montreal-trained colossus consistently used his reach advantage, controlling the fight with his long jab and pinpoint right hands.
Despite point deductions in rounds seven and twelve due to repeated holding, the judges scored the fight clearly in favor of the Russian: 117-109, 116-110 and 115-111. For the 36-year-old, who was recently set back by knockout defeats against Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello, this away win is an important step towards regaining a foothold in the heavyweight scene.
However, Makhmudov also had to survive some dicey moments – especially in round nine, when Allen caught him with a clear right punch and knocked the mouthguard out of his mouth. After a brief interruption, however, Makhmudov was able to survive the rest of the round and secure a well-deserved points victory.
After the fight, Makhmudov paid great respect to his opponent: “I respect Dave Allen. He has a crazy chin. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. He’s a lion,” said Makhmudov after the fight in the ring.
On the undercard, Bilal Fawaz (10-1-1, 3 knockouts) caused a surprise when he dethroned the unbeaten Junaid Bostan (10-1-1, 8 knockouts) in the rematch and secured the vacant English half-middleweight title. After an intense fight, the majority of the judges scored it 96-94, 96-95 and 95-95 for Fawaz, inflicting the first defeat of his professional career on Bostan after their first meeting in January ended in a draw.