Fisher vs Allen 2 is the perfect appetiser for a supreme heavyweight summer
The 'Bosh Army' will pack the Copper Box on Saturday for an old-fashioned British heavyweight fight when their idol, Johnny Fisher, fights Dave Allen.
In a boxing world of Saudi gold, YouTube novices and protected prospects, along come Fisher and Allen in a rematch that would not be out of place at the Royal Albert Hall in the Seventies. A venue at the time with a three-roped ring and smoke often lingering so heavily that a view from the cheap seats was obscured by the fog.
Fisher and Allen are probably not in the top 10 British heavyweights right now, which is not a slight on either of them – it is just the reality of a domestic division packed with top-ranked heavyweights.
Fisher and Allen met last year in Riyadh, and it was a great scrap; Fisher, unbeaten in 12 going in, was dropped and hurt in the fifth round and Allen, who was in the best shape of his life, believed he had done enough to win on points after 10 rounds. Fisher never quite got the credit for coming back from the knockdown, but he showed maturity and real desire to last.
The decision for Fisher was tight, but it was not an outrage. It was a split decision, the two men separated by a slender, single point; fights that close are not robberies. The rematch made immediate sense.
Allen has been an enigmatic fighter for close to a decade, losing seven times so far, but mixing in the very best company and often when he was in bad shape on both sides of the ropes. Last December in Riyadh, he was telling everyone that he had changed, and he pushed young Johnny, who is still only 26, to the very last seconds of the last round. It was the type of fight that all heavyweight prospects need before they fight for real titles.
Fisher's Bosh Army will fill the Copper Box, a remote venue that has never quite become a fixture on the boxing landscape. A similarly hard and gruelling fight seems like the only possible tip; Fisher's youth was enough last time, and it will probably be the same again. It is a fun fight in a division that is incredible right now.
Three weeks after Fisher and Allen fight, there will be a full house outdoors at Portman Road for the return of the local idol Fabio Wardley, when he meets unbeaten and world-ranked Australian Justis Huni. It's a good fight, a fight that puts Wardley in a strong position with the sanctioning bodies, though fans might mourn the loss of Wardley vs Jarrell Miller, after the latter withdrew due to injury.
Just six weeks after Wardley vs Huni, a crowd in excess of 80,000 is expected at Wembley Stadium for the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois for all four world championship belts. They met in 2023 in Poland for three of the heavyweight world titles, and Usyk survived an early shock when he was dropped from a sickening body shot; the punch was ruled a foul, he was given time to recover, and he dropped and stopped Dubois in round nine.
Dubois is a different fighter since then and last fought in September when he knocked out Anthony Joshua in front of over 90,000 people at Wembley. Usyk vs Dubois is a massive heavyweight fight, just the latest in the extraordinary British boxing business.
And now Tyson Fury is close to making a decision about his life on both sides of the ropes; he retired six months ago, and it looks like he will return to the ring. The plan is for a comeback fight or two and not a giant and immediate showdown with his nemesis, Joshua, who is currently scheduled for surgery to address an elbow injury.
The Fury plan, assuming he does return, could be a repeat of his method in 2019; he had two fights in America between two sensational clashes with Deontay Wilder. The same blueprint is likely and makes cash sense.
Fury back in the mix, Dubois deep in action, Wardley selling out a stadium, Joshua injury free and fights like Allen against Fisher just show the depth. This is not a renaissance, it's history.
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