Heavyweight Johnny Fisher (13-0, 11 KOs) was given a highly controversial 10-round split decision win over the experienced, heavy-handed Dave Allen (23-7-2, 18 KOs) last Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Allen Robbed
Many boxing fans complained about the results of the fight, feeling that the Eddie Hearn-promoted Fisher, 25, should NOT have won the fight. Fisher was dropped hard by a left hook from Allen in the fifth round and was further hurt in rounds six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. Allen appeared to have done more than enough to earn the decision, but not with this crew or judges.
Fisher landed a lot of punches in the final five rounds but was repeatedly rocked by Allen when hit hard and forced to clinch. The shots that Fisher was landing had no effect on Allen, who walked through them and nailed him with shots that stunned him.
Fisher’s Illegal Tactics
Fisher used an illegal straight arm throughout the fight, particularly in the last half, to hold Allen back. The referee didn’t do anything about the move. That was interesting to note. Without that little tactic, it’s hard to picture Fisher surviving.
If the contest was held in the U.S., a referee would have warned and penalized Fisher for the straight arm because that was his main tactic, besides excessive cinching, to keep Allen from finishing him.
The scores were 95-94, 95-94 for Fisher, and 96-93 for Allen.
Johnny Fisher vs. Dave Allen Punch Stats
– Fisher: 125 of 395 punches for 31.6%
– Allen: 135 of 303 for 44.6%
Hearn’s Spin
“I think the best I could hope for when I got in the ring was a draw. This is how I see it. Johnny Fisher 100% won the first four rounds and the 12th [correction: This was a 10-round fight, NOT a 12-rounder. Hearn has got it wrong],” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, arguing for why his fighter, Johnny Fisher deserved a win over journeyman Dave Allen last Saturday night.
“He [Fisher] won five rounds definitely. Now, if you give Allen every other round and the knockdown [in round 5], he wins the fight by one point. Now, if you give Johnny Fisher the sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth, Johnny Fisher wins the fight. I’m not sure he did. I have to watch it back,” Hearn continued.
“My true reaction was, ‘We could lose this fight by a point, or it’s a draw. I think Johnny Fisher was very lucky to win the fight. What I will tell you is he showed so much [courage] and so much bottle. We know he’s got that in him. Tonight, we [three-year professional Fisher, 25] we suffered from lack of experience, lack of rounds [41 as a pro, resulting from too many mismatches], and I thought Dave Allen was fantastic,” said Hearn.
Hometown Advantage?
If there is a Fisher-Allen rematch, it would be a good idea to stage it in neutral territory. Hearn says he wants the rematch to be staged in London, which is Fisher’s hometown. That’s not a good deal for Allen, who is from Yorkshire. That means the crowd would be in the A-side Fisher’s favor, and we could see another controversial decision given to him just based on hometown advantage.
“I want to make the rematch. It’s the fight to make in London, big crowd and Dave Allen gets another opportunity. Johnny Fisher is in the hospital now. He’s been scanned, he’s fine. He had to have his [left] ear drained, but he’s okay. That’s the most important thing. It was a very, very close fight. I thought Johnny Fisher was lucky to get the win, but I could argue for a split,” said Hearn.
The moment Dave Allen dropped Johnny Fisher 🤯#Usyk2Fury | #RiyadhSeason | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/J8z4J2rVeZ
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 22, 2024
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