After Saturday’s 12-round loss to Arslanbek Makhmudov, Dave Allen admitted he “wasn’t good enough.” Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KO) outworked him and outworked him in a heavyweight bout at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England.

(Source: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing)

A tardy start costs the white rhinoceros

Allen made things worse by sticking to the game plan of not throwing many punches in the first four rounds. He wanted to wait until Makhmudov weakened a bit before attacking. The problem was that by the time he started, he was too beat up from all the arrows Makhmudov had thrown at him.

The scores were 117–109, 116–110 and 115–111.

“I just wasn’t good enough. He’s better than Johnny Fisher and I got beat,” Dave Allen said A place of stompingreflecting on his defeat to Arslanbek Makhmudov. “I thought, ‘I’m going to get this guy in round nine,’ but I ran out of legs. I took too many good shots.”

Allen squandered his best chance of victory by rarely throwing punches through the first four rounds. Then he should have fought challenging, because there was already a plan to wear out Makhmudov. You start speedy.

Too beaten to start a comeback

By the time Allen started to take the field in the ninth over, he was so absorbed in the penalty that he couldn’t let go of his hands.

“Yeah, I would say yes,” Allen replied when asked if it was the hardest hit he had ever taken. “Sam was crushed.”

Johnny Fisher, Luis Ortiz and Tony Yoka all hit Allen pretty challenging. It looked like Makhmudov didn’t hit him that challenging because he lost too much speed. Still, Makhmudov’s shots were massive and it was clear that he was a naturally powerful fighter.

Doesn’t need to charge like some fighters. Allen made it easier for Makhmudov to land by standing in front of him and simply covering himself.

Joshua vs. Makhmudov: a real possibility?

“I think Joshua stops him in a round or two. I think Makhmudov is good, but not as good as he was. I think Makhmudov two or three years ago would have been a different proposition. He’s still better than me, but not as good as he was,” Allen said.

“The White Rhino” Allen may have been right about Makhmudov. The version of him that defeated Carlos Takam in 2022 would cause Anthony Joshua huge problems. Makhmudov was faster and more agile then. Some of the shots Takama landed would have been unsafe for Joshua. Takam took them but fell twice.

It is doubtful whether Joshua will agree to fight Makhmudov. According to him, he said that AJ will fight him in 2026. We don’t know if Joshua was joking with him. Indeed, there are better options for Joshua to fight next year, starting with Jake Paul or Tyson Fury.