White Rhino Dave Allen chases heavyweight upset
Dave Allen faces a very different kind of heavyweight on Saturday night when he takes on Croatia’s battle-hardened Filip Hrgović.
Dave Allen faces a very different kind of heavyweight on Saturday night when he takes on Croatia’s battle-hardened Filip Hrgović.
Allen has become one of British boxing’s cult figures - the self-deprecating “White Rhino” who somehow turned honesty, humour and grit into a career that keeps pulling him back into big nights. But this one is different.
Hrgović arrives at the Eco-Power Stadium, Doncaster, carrying the sort of pedigree Allen hasn't always shared a ring with.
The bookmakers certainly see it that way.
Hrgović is a strong odds-on favourite for the fight, with Allen again cast in the role of underdog despite fighting on home turf.
On paper, that is understandable.
Hrgović’s only professional defeat came against WBO heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia, where Dubois forced a stoppage on cuts during a punishing contest last summer.
Before that, the Croatian had built a formidable record while beating contenders including Zhilei Zhang and Demsey McKean, earning a reputation as one of the heavyweight division’s avoided men.
Allen’s career path has been different. While Hrgović was collecting medals around the world, Allen was building his reputation the hard way - taking risky fights against names such as Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz, Tony Yoka and Johnny Fisher.
British fans warmed to him because he never pretended to be anything other than an ordinary South Yorkshire lad trying to survive among giants.
Their amateur backgrounds underline the contrast even more sharply.
Hrgović was one of Europe’s elite amateurs. He won Youth World Championship gold in 2010, beating future heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker in the semi-finals and Tony Yoka in the final. He later claimed Olympic bronze at Rio 2016, becoming Croatia’s first Olympic boxing medallist since independence.
The Dearne Valley man, by comparison, never had that decorated international schooling.
Conisbrough’s favourite fighting son built himself through small halls and domestic circuits before turning professional in 2012.
That lack of amateur pedigree has often shown against technically polished operators, but it has also helped make him relatable to British crowds.
The styles should make for an intriguing clash.
Hrgović is the taller, longer and technically tidier heavyweight. He fights behind a stiff jab, throws straight punches and has spent years sparring and competing with world-level heavyweights. At his best he is systematic, physically imposing and difficult to discourage.
Allen’s best work usually comes at close range. He relies on timing, durability and a surprisingly sharp boxing brain. He is not difficult to hit, but he has built a career around dragging opponents into uncomfortable fights. If he can survive Hrgović’s jab and force exchanges at short range, the Doncaster crowd will believe an upset is possible.
Yet Hrgović’s experience at the elite end is on another level. Allen’s recent resurgence has centred around domestic-level headline fights, while Hrgović has spent years operating in world-title eliminators and major Saudi-backed heavyweight cards.
There is also a huge financial gulf between the careers they have travelled.
Hrgović has boxed on some of the richest heavyweight events in recent years, benefiting from boxing’s Saudi boom. Allen’s purses are thought to have generally been more modest, though this homecoming fight is still expected to bring one of the biggest paydays of his career.
One quirky detail about Hrgović is that, despite the nickname “El Animal”, he is often quiet and reserved away from the cameras.
In Croatia he became a national sporting figure after his Olympic success and was awarded a state honour, yet in Britain he remains strangely under the radar for someone who has shared rings with so many elite heavyweights.
Allen, meanwhile, has become boxing’s unlikely folk hero. His self-deprecating humour, honesty about the struggles of boxing life and willingness to fight dangerous opponents have earned him a loyal following far beyond Yorkshire.
Saturday’s fight also adds another chapter to the region's growing boxing story.
The Eco-Power Stadium has increasingly been used for major fight nights, including world-title boxing involving Denaby's Terri Harper. Allen’s homecoming against a globally recognised heavyweight is expected to bring one of the biggest boxing crowds the town has seen in years.
For Allen, it is probably the biggest night of his career emotionally. For Hrgović, it is supposed to be another step back towards the heavyweight elite and another run at world level.
But heavyweight boxing has always had room for chaos - and few British heavyweights have made a career out of defying expectations quite like Doncaster’s White Rhino.