Johnny Fisher and Dave Allen cut out the middlemen and spoke directly on Sunday afternoon as the former sparring partners began to lay the ground for a future heavyweight fight.
It is five years since Allen’s career peaked with a third round stoppage of Lucas Browne at the O2 Arena. The 32-year-old has only lost twice since then – to David Price and Frazer Clarke – but has struggled with motivation and flirted with retirement. He currently appears to be in a good place and is working his way back down towards his fighting weight.
In that time, Fisher, 12-0 (11 KOs), has moved serenely through the professional ranks. On Saturday night, he headlined Matchroom’s show at the Copper Box Arena and blasted through the colorful Alen Babic in 36 seconds.
Whereas the 25-year-old had prepared for the type of painful, grueling fight which may have sapped his enthusiasm for the sport for a few days afterwards, the brief, exciting nature of his win left him wanting more and, on Sunday afternoon, he and Allen spoke on instagram live.
“You’d beat me right now. I need some time. Go to Australia [Fisher has a large Australian fanbase and may fight on a Liam Paro undercard later this year] and then come back and we’ll do it next year,” the always honest Allen, 22-6-2 (18 KOs), told Fisher.
“I think it’d be a good fight. If I fancy the job, I’ll try and get the fight. Currently, you’d be too much for me. You’ve improved out of sight.”
Given Fisher’s current rate of progress and Allen’s level of inactivity, the window for a potential fight should be closing rapidly. Nonetheless, there is never a bad time for good business, particularly in the heavyweight division.
A major part of building a successful young heavyweight these days is keeping them unbeaten. Keeping them unbeaten against a recognizable, marketable opponent is the dream.
Fisher has improved markedly as a fighter but has also put the hard work in outside of the ring and grasped how to market himself. Around 6,000 fans made their way to the Copper Box to see him destroy Babic and a fight with the still popular Allen may well facilitate a move to an even bigger arena.
“Next year would be good. I think a lot of people would buy into it,” Fisher said. “I think we’d sell a lot of tickets. I think you’ve got better experience and you could slow me and and try and old man me a bit. That’s what I’d have to be careful of.”
“I could try to,” a realistic Allen said. “I need to get a lot fitter and get back on it to even have half a chance. I’m gonna keep working hard now. You’ve said that you look up to me but, now, I wanna box you.”
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