JEOPARDY plentiful, Johnny Fisher faces Dave Allen for a second time in what is not just a must-win heavyweight rematch, but a must-win-decisively affair if Fisher is to silence his doubters.
Boxing sequels are often billed as ‘Repeat or Revenge’ but a repeat will simply not do for Johnny Fisher, 13-0 (11 KOs), who scraped a contentious split-decision win on the scorecards against Dave Allen, 23-7-2 (18 KOs), in their Riyadh encounter in December.
Instead, Fisher requires a more conclusive if not concussive display if he is to get back on track. Boxing News looks at how he could appease his critics and how Allen could act as the matador to leave a more permanent mark on the record of ‘The Romford Bull’.
Johnny Fisher – Keys to Victory
Patience
When the first fight was announced, many fans feared for the safety of Allen. He had been stopped by Frazer Clarke the year prior and Fisher had registered three first-round knockout wins in his last four bouts, seeming to improve on each occasion.
As a result, over-confidence, head-hunting and eventually punching yourself out are easy traps to fall into, with Fisher throwing 202 combined punches (avg. 50.5) in the opening four rounds, but just 193 in the six rounds that followed (avg. 32.2).
Fisher should be more switched on against an opponent that he now knows can best him and be prepared to do more rounds. He would be wise to try and win a few early rounds without rushing for the knockout or expending too much energy and patiently wait for the correct openings to appear.
Fully Extend Punches
The fight-altering knockdown came during the fifth-round the last time these two met. From there Allen had much of his success by fighting the Essex fan-favourite on the inside and forcing Fisher to smother his own work.
The looping right-hand is the punch which Fisher usually does his damage with, but it was somewhat taken away from him in the second half of their first encounter and we can expect Allen to try a similar strategy here.
To counter this, Fisher needs to use his size and push Allen off him or at least take a step back to try and create distance allowing for full extension on his punches.
Mentality
Whilst he did get his hand raised, the impact of that first fight is sure to have been felt by Fisher who was not only hurt but perhaps doubted his own abilities. Yet, Fisher is a heavyweight that is learning on the job and the mistakes made in the first fight with Allen are ones that can be corrected here.
It remains to be seen how Fisher will react to that close shave, but any over-cautiousness or lingering self-doubt could result in a more devastating result.
If Fisher can make the adjustments and come through this test with flying colours, then he will certainly have learnt more from the Dave Allen duology than he has in his previous 12 professional contests and it will be an experience that will serve him well.
David Allen – Keys to Victory
Walk Him Down
Allen knows from their previous meeting that Fisher could struggle down the stretch, having never gone past the seventh round aside from their initial fight.
By walking him down and making Fisher work, we could see the undefeated 26-year-old tire out once again and his desperation for a statement performance could further lend itself to an excessive early output that proves consequential during the second half of the fight.
Fight On The Inside
Similarly, Fisher’s inside game was somewhat exposed when they met in Saudi. The veteran Allen was smart enough to ensure that the fight took place there.
Chin on chest, leaning on Fisher and making this an uncomfortable, physically demanding scrap for his inexperienced opponent will give the ‘White Rhino’ his best chance of taking the rounds, keeping Fisher outside of his comfort zone and testing whether the ‘Bull’ can swim in deep waters.
Be Fully Fit
Finally, but most importantly, Dave Allen must come into this fight fully fit. This has been an issue throughout the career of the Yorkshireman and is something that is continuously mentioned when suggesting how far the 33-year-old could have gone. His history of sparring the best in the world is evidence as how well regarded Allen’s boxing brain is held.
An early onslaught from Fisher could well be on the cards but if negated by Allen, the fight will likely begin to turn in his favour the longer that it goes. To ensure he is capable of capitalising in the latter stages his time in the gym will hopefully have been used wisely.
