Don't rule out shock win for South Yorkshire boxing underdog

The Conisbrough heavyweight heads into an incredibly tough fight with Cuban Luis Ortiz in Manchester on Saturday. Ortiz is a 1/100 favourite for the bout and is also odds-on to win by KO.

But he believes he has the ability and game plan to end Ortiz’s unbeaten record – even if he acknowledges things must go his way.

“I 100 per cent believe I will win this fight,” Allen said. “I can beat the best in the world. I’d never take a fight for the money or to stand there and take a beating. It’s not what I do. I know I can beat him. What I have to do is show him to be an old man and show that I can box.

“When I fought Dillian Whyte, people saw how tough I am and how much I can take. But that didn’t beat Whyte so it definitely won’t beat Ortiz.

“I know I’ve got real boxing skill but I’ve not shown it very much so far. I’ll be showing it this weekend.

“I need to take him through the early rounds and push the fight late. I’m convinced he’ll start to slow then and I can put the pressure on. From there, it’s all about how the cards fall. I know I can win this.”

Ortiz signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing earlier this year and won his first fight under the banner last month in Monaco – his 26th fight and win overall.

The 37-year-old former leading amateur was immediately pencilled in for the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s IBF heavyweight title defence against Eric Molina this weekend. Allen said: “I sent a text to Eddie Hearn just telling him to consider me as the opponent.

“I got a reply after about a fortnight and it’s gone from there.”

Allen showed impressive resilience in a points defeat to Dillian Whyte in July and will likely take some shifting, even by Ortiz who has stopped 22 of his 26 fights early.

Once the fight landed in his lap, Allen insists he had no hesitation in taking it.

“People think I’m crazy for taking this fight but I think I’d be crazy not to take it,” he said.

“Win and it changes everything. I’ll go straight up among the best heavyweights in the world.

“And if I perform in there, regardless of the result, my stock will rise.

“People expect me to get sparked out in a round but it’s not going to happen. That’d be the only outcome where I didn’t really gain anything from this fight.

“If I lose, I’m back where I am now. But I fully believe I’m not going to lose.”

Ortiz – known as King Kong – reportedly earned a 343-19 amateur record but never truly succeed at the elite international level.

Nevertheless and despite his age, he has been marked out as one of the leading heavyweights in the world since turning pro in 2010.

Since Tyson Fury relinquished his world titles, Ortiz has been tipped to step up to take his place.

He became WBA interim champion a year ago after stopping Bryant Jennings and is tipped to face Joshua next year.

Allen admits he is excited to be part of a huge night of boxing this weekend.

He said: “I’ve been on a few of these big shows now but this is the biggest.

“Anthony Joshua defending in the main event, Dillian Whyte v Dereck Chisora, two world title fights and in front of 21,000 people on Sky Box Office.

“It’s going to be a good night. The world will be watching Ortiz so it’s up to me to put on a show.”