Allen slims down for tomorrow’s big clash.
Tomorrow night, Dave Allen will face the biggest task of his career–in the eyes of many, an almost insurmountable task–when he faces Filip Hrgovic in his hometown of Doncaster.
Hrgovic is universally considered amongst the ten best heavyweights in the world, while Allen–for all his heart, humbleness, and relatability–has always fallen short at the highest level.
For this reason, this fight has been viewed as somewhat of a mismatch by a large portion of the boxing fraternity, though that won’t stop Allen’s Yorkshire faithful for cheering him on to victory.
Considered one of boxing’s toughest and most affable, Allen experienced a high in his career when he knocked out Johnny Fisher in their rematch almost a year ago. Since then, he has lost to Arslanbek Makhmudov and demolished the overmatched Karim Berredjem.
Hrgovic has beaten Joe Joyce and David Adeleye since his lone defeat to Daniel Dubois, meaning that Allen will be his fourth consecutive British opponent in the row.
The Croatian’s U.K. run might not end there, either, as he has been strongly rumoured as Moses Itauma’s next opponent should he get through Allen unscathed.
Regardless of what occurs, the two weighed in earlier today for their clash of big men. Hrgovic raised no eyebrows by coming in at 248.4 pounds, a figure not far removed from what he has consistently come in at throughout his career.
However, Allen’s weight of 248.8 pounds was more notable, considering he came in for the Berredjem fight at 271.1 pounds, a full 22.3 pounds heavier than today’s result.
This weight for Allen is actually the lightest he’s been since he fought David Price in 2019, for which he weighed 241¼ pounds.
But while Allen has lost pounds in one sense, he has gained them in another, as he placed a pre-fight bet with trainer Jamie Moore that he would come in weighing less than 252 pounds. This charity bet has won Allen £50,000.
Allen’s weight today would suggest that he is taking the bout with Hrgovic as seriously as he claims, which is certainly one step closer to emerging victorious tomorrow.
Whether Allen can do it or not is something that remains to be seen, though this year has already featured a number of high-profile upset wins by British fighters. Just last Saturday, Zak Chelli stopped David Morrell on the Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois undercard.
At the end of the day, much, much stranger things have happened than Dave Allen beating Filip Hrgovic.
THE WHITE RHINO IS READY TO GO 💥#AllenHrgovic | Saturday | EcoPowerStadium, Doncaster | @daznboxing pic.twitter.com/aUaQzMBFKI
— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) May 15, 2026
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