David Allen v Luis Ortiz: I'm ready to beat the best in the world - Allen

David Allen insists he is 100 per cent convinced he will rock the boxing world this weekend by beating the man considered the best heavyweight on the planet.
David AllenDavid Allen
David Allen

The Conisbrough heavyweight heads into an incredibly tough fight with Cuban king Luis Ortiz at Manchester Arena on Saturday night.

Ortiz is a 1/100 favourite for the bout and is also odds-on to win by knockout with plenty predicting a short and painful night for Allen.

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

“I 100 per cent believe that I will win this fight,” Allen told the Free Press.

“I can beat the best in the world.

“I would never take a fight for the money or to stand there and take a beating. It’s just 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.

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“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.

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“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 spotted an opportunity, sent a text to Hearn to put his name forward as the opponent and got a positive response.

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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, 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.”