5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce - Dave Allen: Looking Back and Fighting Forward

Episode Date: September 29, 2025

Is Dave Allen becoming one of Britain’s most popular boxers? Ahead of his Sheffield headliner, the “White Rhino” joins Buncey to reflect on his rise through the ranks, finally getting an en-suite, and the prospect of a fight with Deontay Wilder. Plus, trainer Jamie Moore gives his insight on his fighter's journey.

This is Five Live Boxing. Dave Allen is the heavyweight who just keeps giving. A wise fighter, a young veteran and always popular. Now he fights a giant, a man who claims to wrestle bears and hunt wild pigs with his bare hands. And it's an important fight. Dave Allen at the Sheffield Arena on October the 11 against Arslenbeck MacMoodov.

20 wins, 19 by knockouts, by the way. I went to Walkden to talk to Dave, Dave and his trainer, Jamie Moore. I'm Steve Bunce and this is Five Live Boxing. Before we talk about the boxing, because it's quite important of boxing, you appreciate that. The last time we spoke to you, you just finished beating Johnny Fisher,

and we got you at ringside, and your girlfriend was linked up, and the first thing she said to you, she didn't even congratulate you on winning, and she said, We've got an unsweet, baby! That's what it was all about to be on sweet. All about the unsweet.

Have we got the unsweet? How are we going? There's a good few months ago. Yeah, we went to house shopping on the Monday, straight after. And yeah, we've got a house run on the suite. Yeah, it's nice. So she's happy? Yeah, you know what?

It's just, I'm a very simple person. But when I look out my window, a little bit of pride, really. I can't believe I live where I live. So, no, it's nice. It is nice, yeah. She's happy as well. And I think you with pride's a dangerous thing. You with pride, because that's a happiness.

It makes you a happy man, a happy fire. You have never been happier really Yeah, you know, people Money don't make you happy But things you can buy with it do And it makes people around me happy My kids aren't old enough To be happy, I don't think, yeah

Not happy yet They'll be happy when they're older, you know I think Do you know what, when you're at school You want to make out of your rich When you're older you're going to make out your poor So, yeah, you know what I mean It'd be nice, it'd be nice for my kids

And, yeah, it'd be nice for my kids To, yeah, they can have anything they want And that's what it's all about really You know, I mean, sometimes we talk, when we talk to pros, I'll talk to fighters for the last 30 years, I'll say to them, you've had a roller coaster career I say to fires, and sometimes it's not true. But with you, Dave, it is.

You know, you started in tiny, tiny little places. You get a drawing after a couple of fights against the guy that's only 1-1. And then who'd have thought at that point in your career? Your weights fluctuating by 30 pounds in the space of two months? Who'd have thought you'd ever be, you know, with 8 or 9 or 10,000 sold out of Sheffield? Do you know what? I always thought

I got a draw at the age of 22 Yeah, about your fifth or six fights or something Was that one? Six fight, Plum and Nicol I'll do Castle Arena. Yeah, I was frightened After two rounds I thought, wow, will you get stopped? I did well to get through it But even at that point, yeah, five years later I had landed in the O2

I remember losing to Tony Oka Everyone said you need to retire now I need to think what you're doing I was concourse, couldn't see out of my eyes And I've beaten it well four weeks later And Nick Webb was a bit of a, it was another sort of watershed style fight. Yeah, so eight months later,

after Yoko stopped my headline in the O2. Yeah. I've always been, since a kid, you know, if anyone, anyone ever says to me not doing something, I find a way to do it because I'm not the most talented at anything. I'm not the best at anything.

But if I want to doing something, I do it, always do it, always. I've been that way. You know, I just find, I just find my way to get there. I always get there, always, if I want something. And that O2 fight was that Lucas Brown fight So that was suddenly a matter That took on a life for its own that fight

Because when I first saw that, I wasn't sure that was going to do a lot of business I'm not a slight on you You know Lucas Brown's big Lucas Brown You know you'd lost fights But it took on a life for its own What happened Dave? In your mind what happened?

Well I lost a Yoker And I was going to retire I took a fight in Sunderland, the four-rounder And then I got the Nick Webb fight I beat him I went to Newcastle. Everyone was singing my name and now and I looked at Eddie

and Eddie looked at me and I thought I looked at each other Something's happening here Yeah, we looked to each other and just to say like Yeah like something something good can happen now

I went to Manchester and Boxing Argentineian fellow really struggled with him for seven rounds But the people again loved it It turned out for you Yeah, it was a good fight

and people turned out And then I remember going to go to London one day on the train Eddie rang me He said you're going to fight Lucas Brown Oh I'm over the moon He said you're going to headline

the Ocho Arena with it. I said, what do you mean? He said, you're going to headline the O2 Arena? I didn't even ask him what I got paid. I remember texting 20 minutes later saying, what are you paying me, by the way? Because I totally forgot in all the excitement.

So I think they've got about 10 or 11,000 in the O2 for me and Brown. Which is unbelievable. An Australian fella, other side of the world. And I'm a three and a half hour drive. I lived in a little village in Doncaster. We don't headline the O2 people from there. We don't know anything really.

So that's what I'm saying? What was it? then Dave. I mean, I know my feeling is that people bought into you. They like that love, they like that kind of every man touch, the idea that you could sweat up and down in weight. You have a good performance, then you'd have a odd performance,

then you'd have a bad performance, then you'd have a good performance. You were just like, I mean, you were normal. Yeah, you know what, I'm a different person now, so I was six years ago, six years ago I was like, I was like you and him, I was like everyone, but I'm a bit, I'm a bit crackers as well, and I think people like that

as well. I was a normal person, but I was also a bit eccentric. I was a bit mad, really, so... But at this point in my life now, I think I'm more... I think I'm more the everyday person now than I was then, because back then... You were different back then.

You were a bit of an oddity, eccentric. I like the eccentric. Yeah, I was eccentric, to be honest, yeah. People around my end to say I were crackers. I was starting even mad, so... But now, yeah, but I think it's just the every man factor. Like, I am the average person. And I look like the average man, don't I?

People always comment on stuff, oh look it's Dave Allen I look like that Big Dave Dave. Yeah like I look like I'm coming to every day Dave Allen

I look like Dave Allen Why am I not Are there any official Dave Adam look like contest going on Anyone Anyone fat with the beard Looks like me apparently Oh easy son

I'm breathing in Dave Because after the Lucas Brown Which could have been The start of something You know A big rich vein Then we go

Then we go up and down again After that It wasn't because I bought it's Lucas Brown I thought I were rich and I had a mad one We've got the David Price fight I was signed to box

I agreed to box Paveckin so I just assumed well I want to beat David Price and I'll beat Frike If I was due to fight Pavecgin I can easily beat Price Yeah so with five or six weeks

To go for the Price fight I rang Darren Barker and said I'm not coming back to London now I'm staying at home and I may have fell off really I didn't train really I did one Took you off the price

Yeah I did one spot in the last six weeks I train a couple of times. And that's nothing against Derek. If I'm not doing something, I weren't, back then, if I won't, if someone said to me, you do it in this. I say, good luck. You're gonna have to come and physically make me do it

because I'm not doing it. I will lock myself in my house. I bought an house. I locked myself in it. And I was just doing whatever I wanted to do, really. So, did you know going into the pricey fight? Even now, finishing what, the 10th of 11th? I was going to run.

Did you know going in, you were in trouble? Until fight week, I was going to batter him, weren't bothered. I thought I'd beat him anyway. It didn't mind. I turned up, I saw the size of him. And I thought, oh, no. Because what I was doing, I was eating one meal a day.

I was going to a place called sea fish. I was having a battered cotton chips and a pat of Coke. And I was having one meal a day for the last six weeks. So I weighed 17 stone free. And then I realized, I got in there, I tried it, and I just thought, there's nothing in me. Nothing in any of energy does stroke. Yeah, I just thought, oh.

And I ended up, I had contusions on my spine in that fight. So I ended up paralysed, unconscious and paralysed, a contusions on my spine, which is bruising on the spine. and I finally read the report actually I fight had concussions on my smile it was contusion and it's bruising and the price fight yeah the price fight

should have ended me really I think some of us thought it was the end it would have ended it would have ended most people's careers but an headline in the O2 would have been enough for most

but it weren't enough for me because I knew I'd not done what I could do and then after that we still it's still sort of up and down even before the first Johnny Fisher fight you had those two really small

four-rounders. I mean, I think you did... No, I box at Ponce Forge. I mean, it's just... I watched an Italian fellow at Pons Forge who won won eight out of 32. That was it, yeah.

And then it took me six months to get another fight. Then I boxed in a function room at a hotel in Newcastle over four rounds. Dave, you shouldn't be here. No disrespect. And then it's a Malta and boxed a guy that wasn't even licensed by the British board. He was like on a mad license where I could box him in Malta.

So doesn't that show up on your record? No, it does. He didn't fight him? He doesn't. But he couldn't get a, like, with the British boxing board. He was licensed by someone else because he was in Malta, the British boxing board said you can fight him.

But like he weren't good enough to get a British Box Board of Control License. I went and chinned him around. And then I bought Fraser Clark. I came with a couple of weeks ago. I knew Fraser Clark's a good fight and I thought, well, they aren't trained. Yeah. So I came over here and I thought, I knew Jay and I looked after me. So and then I went to two more four-rounders in skate and a skate roller skating.

Those are the ones I thought about. Yeah. And then, so that five-year period was just mental really. I mean, that's the sort of stuff that old heavyweights did when they were 39, 40 and 41 coming back at the end of their career. But you were only 32, 33 or 31 even in some of that. 28 and some of that mess. Yeah. When I was at Ponce Ford, I was 29.

Just turned 29. I did line the 0-2 18 month early and now I'm doing a four-rounder. So, Dave, was there a point when it clicked or you turned the switch on or whatever it was? or when maybe Jamie, I'll speak to Jamie in a moment, when Jamie turned, Reddy to the right. What's there a point, Dave? Do you know what the biggest point for me was? That's my first four-rounder in the roller skating place.

I was boxing a mean boo chitter, and I'd not sold enough tickets to box. And my missus said, David, this has got to stop now, because we had a kid, we had two kids, and we were struggling to pay for stuff. We were struggling to live. And she went, David, like, it's over. Like, you don't have to get a job because it's over.

And I said, it ain't over yet It's not over He said, you can't have to get a job Because we can't keep living like this So I said, no, let me have this fight And see what happened So I had to get two grand A mate and mine put half in

And I found the other half And I couldn't sell the ticket to box this fella So I boxed in, went four rounds It was terrible And then after the fight I just said, look give it a bit of time And if we don't find it, if nothing comes up in a few months

I'll have to get a job and leave the boxing. And then I randomly was on the way home. I think we'd been away over. Mom and Dad, I got a call. I think it was Sam Jones. Yeah. And he said,

you're watching Johnny Fisher in Saudi. I could have cried, to be honest. Because I weren't ready for boxing to be over. I weren't ready for it to be over. But at the same time, you were prepared to save his family. Yeah, if nothing would have come up, probably by Christmas.

Well, before, like, I'd have to get a job November time or something. So I was literally about, I was six weeks away from just having to say, you know what, it's done. And it's over. Because when you arrived in Saudi, that was a different, I'd never seen,

I'd never seen that day before. That man that was out there. It was just something about your eyes. There was something about the way you look, the way you were talking, the way you were acting. Most of it was still normal day, but it was just something different.

Did you sense it? Did you sense yourself that I can win this fight? I will win this fight. You know what? I turned up for, I'd earned the money, the Fisher First Fight, Fisher money for me to go,

to like have enough money to I'm talking about before the first five yeah I could pay my house off that I was living in at the time okay all right and that was enough for me and I can go and get a job and do whatever keep training in my boxes I've got a little lobby that you enjoy and I can go and work a job

and then my granddad passed away a few months before and when I bought Fraser Clark my granddad didn't talk to me for months because of the defeat yeah so it wouldn't talk to me for months so I remember a couple of weeks gone by and I thought I'd like for my granddad which to be honest I said to my dad I said I said it was something my granddad

and he said, he said, he's not very happy with you. I said, well, what's up? He said, you quit against Fraser Clark, and you don't want to talk to you. So I said, all right, so a bit of me, I was upset, and I was a bit, me and we had gone over close, and he's never been like that, really. So I said to my dad, I said, well, what do you think? And he said, he said, well, he said, you quit, but he said, the difference is I, my dad was professional boxing, it's our box, I understand it, it's hard.

Yeah. So do you think I quit? He said, do you think you quit? I said, yeah, I do. He said, well, I do. He said, yeah, your granddad's not very happy with you. So I went to see my granddad, and, uh, my goddard were a good man, you know what I mean?

So I went to the house and we were talking. But he took ages to get over it. Took about six months to get over it. And then he passed away about four or five months after that. But, yeah, it was very important to me. So I went over there, really, not even for the money, really. Just to put it, I wouldn't, if I won all lost against Fisher the first time. I just wanted to have a good, have a good fire.

And you did? Yeah. So you let you let you could leave that ring satisfied. You knew you did? I was satisfied. You knew you make your granddad happy? Everyone said, oh, you got robbed. I don't care.

I came here to, from my granddad to, he's not here anymore. But I wanted to do it. I've only just started boxing for me now. People say, oh, you're doing this for the kids and that. The money's for the kids. The fighting's for me. The boxing's for me. The money's for the kids.

I'm the missus, I guess, because you heard there's a great honor by it. Yeah, exactly. Unsweet Davy. Yeah, I couldn't care less about the money. But I care about the boxing. So what about the rematch then? with Fisher where you were even more calm, we were even more confident

there was, you know, even more focused very much, you know, that was not a Dave Allen in going into that fight. It was just a different person than the one I'd met a dozen times. Yeah, I knew he couldn't beat me. I knew he couldn't beat me, so when I bought Shraiser Clark, I were terrible

and when I watched Johnny Fisher the first time, I think I was still terrible, but I was fit. I've come over here and we did a proper like 10 weeks at it and we couldn't get properly fit you can't cheat boxing you know you can't you can't spire and be in the gym for years if you're not in the gym for years

and be sparring all the rest of it you can't cheat and do it so the first fisher fight was terrible but he's not as good as Fraser Clark so he couldn't do what phrases did and just dance around me and whatever but by the time the second fight came around after doing 10 rounds

just swine for the first fight to swine for the second fight Johnny Fisher is not on my level and I knew that and that came out of that was what it was and that's not to dig it in You can't cheat boxing by doing it five or six years and fight a man who's doing it for 17 and beat him

it's impossible. You've spoken to Johnny's, have you spoken to Johnny's. Yeah, he came up here. He came over and have a little work around just to get a feel because he's left, he's left, obviously, he's left Mark Tibbs. Yeah, he's a nice kid, he's a nice fellow. So what about big Arsland Beck? Okay, he's only, he's big, but he's not as big as we're making out.

We're making him into a giant. I mean, he's six five, don't get me wrong. He's about the same sort of weight as you. Have you seen him in the flesh? I've never seen him in the flesh, no. Do you study fights or do you leave that to Jamie? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I've watched him numerous times.

I got offered to fight him three years ago. Oh, okay. I accepted the fight in Canada. Oh, alright. So I got offered the fight in 2022. I said, yeah, I laugh that. It weren't my manager, my first of my mom. At my time, said, do you want to buy my dad for 60 grand or whatever I think he were?

Yeah. I said, yeah, of course I do in Canada, yeah. So I watched him for, oh, bloody, all these, quite good. So I sent it to my dad. And I said, do much, so I box him in eight weeks. I just had my daughter. And my dad takes me back. He said, what was wrong with you?

He said, why do you want to go to Canada and boxing? You said, so the kid say no. So I went back and said, oh, by the way, sorry, but I've changed my mind. I'm not doing it. So I should have boxing three years ago. But you picked him this time, didn't you? Because that's the story. That's the way, any sort of point in it is.

I didn't want to go to show the arena. We sold about 9,000 tickets. I should have, I could have boxed anybody. Could have shot have boxed. So, I, I, the honest, true face, I didn't want to box, Matt Madov. I didn't want to watch Tony Oaker. I didn't want to box any of these names you give me. I wanted someone easier.

I said, let me go back to Sheffield. And let's box someone good. You want a homecoming, you want a homecoming fight? I don't know if I was one of the top 25 in the world. Because I'm not in the top 25 in the world. So I said, give me Lenroy Thomas Trilogy or Chris Lovejoy. Yeah, like what? Lenroy Thomas Trility.

And he said, no, you can pick one of these. So I picked Matt Maddove because he's the biggest, the scariest. And I thought he was the best. So I said, we might as well have it. If we're having it, Eddie, we might as love it as good as we can. Dave, if you beat Big Arslanbeck, if you beat him and I think you beat him,

I mean, there's people that have beaten him and there's ways to beat him. I've watched that. I've watched one of them up because I was there for Ajik Cabo up close. If you beat him, where'd you go after, Dave? I mean, obviously you go into a nice Christmas.

Where does Dave Allen go after assuming he beats MacModoff? Well, I've been told I've probably bought John Say Wilder. So. It's a mad world, isn't it? The other thing with me is, like, I'm not a hard man at all. Do you know, like, I'm not, I'm quite a pleasant person, really.

And I never, I never have trouble with anybody. I'm not an hard man, but if it comes to just fighting, I'll fight anybody. I'm not bothered. But I'm not really that way in decline, really. I'm not aggressive. I'm not aggressive. I don't, I won't say I'm an hard man, but I'll fight anybody for anything, just for the thing of it.

Yeah, but I'm not, though. I'm actually quite pleasant. Dave, so finally, can you allow yourself to get excited about walking out in front of 9,000 or more? It might even be more on the 9th. Generally, top of the bill, close enough to your home,

not three hours away from your home. Can you allow yourself to get a bit, can you allow yourself to get excited? I am excited, I would enjoy it as well. Yeah, enjoying it's key. I enjoyed the fishery match. I enjoyed it. It was in the changing rooms.

Me, Jay, Nyes, Roger was in there. I think all the boys had gone. And my way started playing. And I just thought, I remember being 16 years of age, going to Brendan Ingle's gym, and I was terrible. Kid Gala had used to laugh at me and be like, oh, what are you even here for? You got two of left feet. And I remember being 18, my first amateur fight, and I won on a split. I was dreadful. And all them times, in my pro debut at Don Valley Stadium, that's been knocked down now. I remember drawing at Newcastle. Remember watching Jason Gavengate and rugby tackled on the floor at Sheffield Arena.

And if any of them points, the dream was to headline Sheffield Arena. It was to try and box a former Olympic champion in the world. And I'm here. So why would I not enjoy it? If I can't enjoy headline in Sheffield Arena in the big time for loads of money,

what is wrong with me? And I realise that now. So I started to enjoy it because I'm so fortunate. Okay, so I'm going to go now, Dave. The first question I asked you, seems to have been 20 or minutes ago was about, you know, potential unsuit.

This is a few more quid coming in. Are you looking at building a cinema base? What are you thinking about doing? Helipad? I don't want to brag or nothing. No, go on, Sam, brag. We have got a cinema room in the house. Get in.

But what you've got to think is, I'm from Doncaster, so house price is there. Probably not what. People watching this, can bloody hell he's got some money. It's a bit cheaper where I am than where you might be watching this. But what's the plans? If I win, if I win, the plans are,

I've got loads of plans. I've got loads of plans, yeah. But if I win, I just think the rich I am, the missus gets off my back, do you know what I mean? So, because she was on my back big time before that first fisher fight. Wow, get a job this. You don't do this. I'm doing the dishwasher before the fisher fight.

I'll do the dishwasher, the washing. Oh, I'm doing all sorts. Oh, you're not boxing. You have to do this. Now it's like, I'm boxing the line of Sheffield Arena. No, I need to say, I can't do the dishwasher. Could get injured. Can't do the dishwasher.

So it's good now. more I win, the less shit around the house I do. So I was going to keep winning. And that, my friend, is called Motivation. Dave, thanks so much for your time. This is Five Live Boxing. So Jamie Moore, Jamie, before we begin, I've just spoken to Dave Allen. It turns out that he's got a cinema room. Yeah. Cinema room, James. It's not bad going, is it? What about that? What are you paying your fighters, son? Cinema rooms?

I wish I had a cinema room. A bit of peace and quiet. But, mate, I'm buzzing for him. Busing for him. The dream was always the unsweet. So to have a cinema room as the bonus is something else, isn't it? When you start working with a guy, and you started working with him and it was a bad, you know, it was short camp, small camp,

then it doesn't work out. And you start to work with him, you start to see. You told me a couple of weeks out before the first fight with Johnny Fisher. So about a year ago, about last November you told me, something like that. You said, look, he's different, he's changed. I know he has, but tell me what has changed.

What's made Dave Adan the fighter he is today compared to the fighter we've seen over the last five, six, seven years? I think it's difficult. When you've had the type of career Dave's had, which is balmy, by the way. Yeah. It's ridiculous. It really is.

He's such an unconventional way of going about it. Like, it's literally, I've never seen or heard of anyone go about it the way David's gone about it, but it's worked for him. So you can't, I don't think you can, put your finger exactly on what was the reason. For me, using my own experience to try and make sense of it, I think having kids is always a big turning point for anyone.

I always remember having a conversation when I was 21 with Steve Foster, the Viking. Steve the Viking Foster. We were on our way to sprints and he said to me, I don't know why we was having this conversation, but he said to me, do you think you love your mum and dad? I said, of course I do. I love me when my dad.

He went, you think, you think you know with love until you have your own kids. And then you're really... And you didn't have any kids at the time. I didn't have any kids at the time. And he said, then you'll really understand what proper love is. And I never realized what he meant. I always remembered the conversation, but I never realized what he meant until I had my own kids.

So knowing that and sort of my own little journey as a fight of myself, the inspiration, what I got from having kids, I believe, was the turn. turning point for Dave because when everything's about you it's very difficult to to go that extra mile when when it's the cause is greater than you i.e. your kids then you're then you're willing to go that extra mile and so in the build up to to the Fisher fight was there a button switch then a flick to you know a switch to flicked on then because you were you were adamant you were convinced that that what you were seeing was a man that was going to beat Johnny Fisher

because in all honesty we'd had a few training camps with Dave the first one never ended up materialising into a fight because they couldn't get Lovejoy a license in place so we did a full training camp and in all honesty he was in really good shape for that and I think that lots him sick because it was probably the first time in a long time where he dedicated himself properly

and never had an end result there was a bit of time in between he'd retired he came back and he was like listen I've got the Fraser Clark fight where you work with us and I was like listen how long we've we got and I think we had four and a half weeks so it was nowhere near long enough

and in all honesty Steve I think he was sort of like I know I've got massive mountain to climb here if I'm in deep water here I want you to not let me get hurt and I get that

I understand it and I wouldn't I wouldn't let any of my fighters get hurt so so and these I've heard Dave speak a lot in the past about you know I quit in that fight

or people say, you know, the conversations about his grander and stuff, he didn't quit in that fight. The fact of the matter is, I know what Dave's like, I could see it in his face, he probably got to the point in the fight where he knew he wasn't going to win, but he didn't quit. I pulled him out of the fight. He actually argued with me in the corner about not pulling him out.

So I'll save his grace with that. He did not quit. I pulled him out. And I think without ever having a conversation about it, that was the sort of science. finding the contract in terms of there was a trust built there where it was like, I know you've got my best interest at that. And that's the case.

That's the case with all my fighters. I know how dangerous they sport is. And then he went away again. He had a couple of four-rounders. He rang me and out of respect, he said, listen, Jay, just so you know I'm going to have these fights, I'm just going to train at home, you know, just going to keep me foot in the door just in case something comes up.

So when the Johnny Fisher fight came up, he rang me and said, listen, I've got this fight Johnny Fisher. I was just wondering whether you and Nigid work with us. And I said, listen, I will do Dave. But that's not an easy fight. He can really punch. If we're going to do this...

He's got momentum as well. Yeah. If we're going to do this, we have to do it proper. And he said, I promise you, Jay, I'm all in. And I think we had eight or nine weeks, but the starting point was not great. It was like virtually from zero. So we got him in the best possible shape we could.

And in all honesty, he put in an amazing shape. in that first fight. A lot of people thought he won it. It was a close fight, but I thought he'd definitely won it. And at the end of the fifth round, Steve, it was like a light bulb moment because everything what we spoke about

and everything I knew Dave could do sort of materialised in that round. And the look on his face in the corner was like that light bulb moment. And I was like, there you go. Now you understand if you put that work in, this is what you can do. And he's never looked back from that moment.

And it almost doesn't matter now that it was a controversial decision. I mean, it might still matter to you because your pride. And you'd also, remember, had a particularly awkward night with Josh Taylor and Cato a few years earlier. So, you know, the way Dave sees, it doesn't matter. But he got something from that fight, which led into the second fight. And leading into the second fire, he was so calm, so confident. That confidence was built on that experience of knowing.

From the first fight. Yeah. Fighters renowned for building confidence on those types of experiences. It's what builds that mental fortitude and it's literally from that fifth round onwards.

In all honesty, the rest of the fight was really difficult because of a conditioning really. You know, we actually, I remember for that first fight, we sort of got him six round ready and I said, sort of navigate the first three or four

with damage limitation to make sure that you can finish the fight stronger. And that's exactly how it worked out. But this Dave Allen now is a handful for any heavyweight in the world because he's got so much experience, navigating fights, being unfit. Now he's got the conditioning and he's got the mental belief in himself. So add all that together and you've got a dangerous fighter.

And, you know, talking to Dave, he's talking about, you know, the fact he's got his chosen Arsenal MacMudov. It was one of the ones on the list. But he was saying, you know, I would like, just, you know, give me a homecoming. He's like, give me a knee and he's like, Arsenal Beck's a big old lamp. It's a big old lamp and it's a danger

if you allow him to bully you. Absolutely. And, you know, it's not exactly the same type of style but he's got a lot of similarities to Johnny Fisher where, you know, he's a dangerous guy, he's a big guy,

he's a real handful. But if you weather that storm early and navigate it the way I know Dave can do, take him into deep water and then say, go on, son, see if you can swim.

And that's what happened. That's why the way is it, Cabo, beat him. Yeah. So you're going to be walking out, and you've walked out on some big nights with some big fights. You're going to be walking out in Sheffield, maybe 10,000 in there, all cheering on Dave Allen. I mean, you might not have to pinch yourself, but I mean, I think even Dave has to pin yourself. It's just a dream.

It's just, and I love the aspect of it. It's just a bit of a fairy tale. I'm a soft. It's such a beautiful story, and I'm proud to be a part of it. And I cannot wait to see however many thousand people are going to be. be in that arena cheering for Dave Allen because he's such a humble down-to-earth guy and I don't think he ever expected to be in this position. He's been he's now for you know paved that path so he can walk this walk, enjoy this ring walk and when everyone is my way or fields

of gold or whatever he's going to come out to it's going to be a magical moment and then I mean assuming he wins and I think and I think he does win then there might be even bigger fights going forward. We've gone from fairy tale to sort of fantasy land. It's incredible. Dave Allen's stories far from over. Absolutely.

And somebody should make a film on him. Because if he puts himself in the position to win a world title, then it's literally a rocky story paved down in real life. Absolutely. I swear to God. I don't know who'd play him.

We had a laugh about this other day. It depends. You know, I think when Dave's out of shape, it could be like, Peter Kay when he's in shape when he's in shape

Brad Pitt you know that type of thing that's a spectrum of sort of the highs and lows oh listen I can't listen we'll leave that I'm going to ask you a question here

uh James I mentioned his name Jack Cattle he's left the gym he's left you and Nigel do you know what he's doing I don't know what he's doing it's not a trick question

yeah by all intents and purposes I've heard he's going to America and I wished him I rang him and afterwards we had a conversation face to face and I just rang him a few days later

I said Jack whatever you're doing I wish you nothing but the best he's a great kid lovely lovely lad we had nine years unbelievable journey and listen fighters leave gym sometimes that's such what it is yeah that's absolutely what it is Jamie listen it's an absolute pleasure and a delight talking to you and I'll see you in the buildup to Dave Allen topping the bill against

Arsenal Beck-Madov at the Sheffield Arena that's a sentence I didn't think I'd ever have a lot of Rutter What a lie. Jamie, thank you. Cheers, mate. Five live sports. It can be the best of you can be. We're going to go out there in Atlanta.

And skill collide. Five Life Sports. NFL. Listen on BBC.