FAN-FRIENDLY heavyweight Dave Allen produced an emphatic finish to his rematch with Johnny Fisher, pulling a rabbit out of hat to close the show in devastating fashion.
Up to that point, ‘The Doncaster De La Hoya’ was trailing far behind, only for his fifth-round finish to provide a stunning turn of events.
In any case, his stoppage victory represents a more conclusive result than what emerged shortly after their first encounter last December.
That night, many believed that Allen was denied a richly deserved win, with Fisher instead edging a controversial split decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This time around, though, the 33-year-old made sure to cement his victory at the Copper Box Arena in London, England.
As expected, a bearpit atmosphere set the tone ahead of their eagerly anticipated battle, providing the perfect backdrop to what promised to deliver fireworks from the opening bell.
More surprisingly, however, their spectacle got off to a somewhat cagey start, with Fisher popping out his jab while Allen, despite marching forward, remained conservative with his output.
The second round told a similar story, with Fisher abandoning his usual gung-ho approach and instead sticking behind his lead hand, rarely opting to trade in the pocket.
Allen, meanwhile, launched a few of his signature overhand rights but, for the most part, was seemingly happy to wait patiently for each opening.
Fisher then began to elevate his intensity in the third round, keeping his jab pumping at long range while, at the same time, finding several sneaky uppercuts on the inside.
But Allen returned the favour in the following three minutes, jolting the 26-year-old’s head back with arguably his best shot – a spearing right uppercut – up to that point.
With Fisher resuming his evasive work on the outside, too, it was not long before his more aggressive opponent injected a degree of spite into their domestic dustup.
A left hook scrambled the Essex man’s senses in the fifth-round, with a seamless combination that followed shortly after sending him to the canvas.
Despite scrambling back to his feet, Fisher was then caught by another crushing left hook – this one landing flush on his chin – before an appropriate towel from his corner came flying in.
Before that, the card’s co-main saw George Liddard storm through his British middleweight title eliminator with a destructive fifth-round finish over Aaron Sutton.
The 22-year-old’s first knockdown arrived inside the first minute of their encounter, before the Essex man floored his opponent two more times and, in doing so, inspired Sutton’s corner to throw in the towel.
Elsewhere on the card, Kieron Conway claimed the vacant British middleweight title with an emphatic fourth-round stoppage victory over Gerome Warburton.
It was a sickening left hook to the body that sealed his one-sided victory, propelling the Northampton man another step closer towards European honours.
Opening the card’s main portion, meanwhile, Jimmy Sains was taken the distance for the first time in his young professional career, securing the middleweight Southern Area crown with a wide unanimous decision victory over Gideon Onyenani.
