Tonight’s Live Results: Allen Vs. Makhmudov – From Sheffield

Dave ‘White Rhino’ Allen (24-7-2, 19 KOs) battles Arslanbek Makhmudov (20-2, 19 KOs) tonight in a potentially life-changing fight for both in a Matchroom-promoted event at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England. A large crowd of 10,000 is expected to be in attendance tonight.

Results

Josh Padley (17-1, 5 KOs) won a surprisingly wide 10-round unanimous decision over Reece Bellotti (20-7, 15 KOs) in a featherweight contest. Bellotti, 34, got the better of the action through the first six rounds and had Padley hurt with body shots in the sixth.

However, Padley came back strong in the seventh, landing nice combinations. Bellotti seemed to lose power on his punches in the final four rounds to enable Padley to take control. The scores were 99-92, 97-93, and 97-93. Boxing News 24 had it for Bellotti 6-4.

Hamza Uddin (6-0, 3 KOs) stopped Paul Roberts (7-7, 2 KOs) in the fifth round to capture the vacant BBBofC English flyweight title. Uddin, 22, dropped Roberts three times in round five. The final one was a left to the body, causing Roberts to take a knee in a delayed reaction. Robert’s corner threw in the towel at that point. Referee Michael Alexander halted the contest at 2:14 of round five.

DAZN Broadcast and Ring Walk Times

Tonight’s event will be shown live on DAZN, starting at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT.  The ring walks are at approximately 4:45 p.m. ET / 1:45 p.m. PT.

Undercard Fights

Josh Padley vs. Reece Bellotti
Junaid Bostan vs. Bilal Fawaz
Hamza Uddin vs. Paul Roberts
Ibraheem Sulaimaan vs. James Chereji
Conner Tudsbury vs. Khalid Graidia
Joe Howarth vs. Kane Baker
Joe Hayden vs. Angelo Dragone

The two heavyweight fringe contenders, Allen and Makhmudov, hope to set themselves up for career-high paydays against top-tier heavyweights. Allen, 33, has gotten new hope with his recent win over Johnny Fisher.

For Allen and Makhmudov, this could be the last chance for them to get a taste of the millions that other heavyweights are making, some of them totally unproven.

The 33-year-old British fighter Allen was given up as a lost cause years ago, but a recent fifth-round TKO victory over Johnny Fisher on May 17 has given him a chance to turn his career around.

His promoters at Matchroom want to line him up with one of the aging top-level fighters if he defeats Makhmudov tonight. It’s questionable whether it’ll happen, but it’s been an excellent promotional strategy to attract interest in Allen’s fight tonight.

Allen’s past losses:

• Johnny Fisher
• Frazer Clarke
• David Price
• Tony Yoka
• Luis Ortiz
• Dillian Whyte
• Lenroy Thomas

Keys to tonight’s bout

Dave Allen: He’s got to overcome the fierce early attack by the 6’5 1/2″ Makhmudov, who will come out fast, looking to take Allen out with one of his huge shots. The size and power that Makhmudov possesses will make things difficult for Allen if he chooses to exchange or stand his ground.

The high guard that Allen uses could be his downfall tonight if he uses that approach. Makhmudov does well against fighters who shell up in front of him. Allen is going to have to fight back because he can’t be a sitting duck behind a high card, hoping to block everything coming his way from the big Russian.

Arslanbek Makhmudov: He must attack Allen early, punch around his high guard to hit him on the side of the head to stun him. When Allen is knocked off balance, Makhmudov must hit him with chopping shots with full force to put him down. If Allen chooses to stay on the outside to stay out of trouble in the first four rounds, Makhmudov must walk him down, and force him to defend.