Johnny Fisher remains unbeaten as a professional heavyweight fighter, but he was taken right to the brink by the wily Dave Allen in a Riyadh slugfest on Saturday night.
These two heavyweights provided a proper slugfest worth of the Usyk vs Fury 2 undercard, which gave us 10 rounds of epic entertainment.
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The 25-year-old Fisher (now 13-0) prevailed via the closest of split decisions against the 32-year-old Allen (23-7-2), who proved a worthy foe after getting into the best shape of his career.
Fisher started really well but was down in the fifth and on the brink of defeat before recovering to nick the fight with a display of guts and resilience. The hardest fight of his career so far.
Fisher vs Allen round-by-round
Fisher made a really confident start, having really good success in the opening round – particularly with powerful body shots which hit home hard and often. The most worrying moment for Allen came when a Fisher body shot thudded home and ‘The White Rhino’ felt it was low. As he looked at the referee with no response, Fisher moved in quickly to launch a furious assault.
Round 2 was another in the bank for Fisher, though he was expending plenty of effort with those body shots, uppercuts and the overhand right. He was definitely landing the better punches as Allen was pretty much content just to survive for now.
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The third saw Allen continuing to take everything Fisher could throw at him – displaying a chin which has served him so well in a professional career during which he’s never been on the canvas. It was another round for ‘The Romford Bull’ on our card, but was he setting too hot a pace and would it cost him later? The answer in the fourth was negative as he continued to hold sway to bank another round.
Fisher’s early exertions appeared to cost him dear early in Round 5 when he was caught by a left hook and sent to the canvas as Allen finally showed some attacking intent. He did beat the count but was on very wobbly legs and had a desperate couple of minutes as Allen continued to land heavy shots, notably a big right uppercut which stiffened Fisher’s legs. By the end of the round Fisher appeared to be back in the fight as he somehow recovered his poise.
It was developing into some scrap and Fisher gambled in the sixth by coming out detonating big bombs again. But they were just bouncing off the granite chin of Allen. And late in the session the Doncaster man again stiffened Fisher’s legs with another big counter. It was classic stuff with both mean really being tested to the max.
The seventh was again a similar script with Fisher trying to unload while Allen scored sporadically with big counters which had ‘The Romford Bull’ in trouble. Both men were showing incredible chins and reserves and it was a cracking fight to watch.
The slugfest continued in Round 8 with both men landing at will. Allen had said beforehand he was in the best shape of his career and he was proving it here. But Fisher had recovered astonishingly well from the deep waters of the fifth, and continuing to thud in flurry after flurry.
The penultimate session was another cracker, exhausting just to watch. Fisher was faring well until late in the round when he was hurt badly again by a short, chopping Allen shot which left him holding on for dear life. Just three minutes to go, which way would it go now?
The final round produced yet more compelling action with Fisher charging forward and Allen responding with those counters which more often than not were hurting the Essex man. Both landed big shots and Fisher probably finished the session stronger. Would that be crucial as we went to the scorecards?
Scorecards and result
The scorecards told us what we already knew, it was a fight which was touch and go and could easily have gone either way. A cracking scrap which we’d love to see again.
It was Fisher who prevailed by split decision, nicking it by a single point on the crucial third and final card. He improves to 13-0 and got a proper examination here, while Allen drops to 23-7-2.
Scorecard 1: 95-94 Fisher
Scorecard 2: 96-93 Allen
Scorecard 3: 95-94 Fisher
Result: Fisher wins by split decision
