A FEW years ago, pairing up Deontay Wilder and Dave Allen would’ve seemed like an unfathomable suggestion. However, since the serious dip in the form and mentality of Wilder, combined with the surprising form of Allen, it has been talked into some kind of parallel reality.
Joseph Parker has also been mentioned in some capacity for the ‘Doncaster De La Hoya’ whose likeable everyman personality manages to get him fights and opportunities well above his perceived level. Stablemate Brown believes in Dave, and his ability to rumble with current WBO Interim champion Parker or former WBC king Wilder.
“I think Wilder, he don’t believe in himself that much anymore and I think like [with] his body type, you can’t obviously put away his power and stuff, but I think Dave mauls him. Whereas Joseph Parker it’s an exciting fight that,” he told Odds Now.
The image of Dave Allen “mauling” Deontay Wilder in a ring is bizarre. However, given the way Wilder looked so tentative putting away overmatched heavyweight Tyrrell Herndon, in Wichita recently, it is clear to say that the once-feared destroyer of old has now drifted away.
As for Brown, his own fledgling career is going from strength-to-strength. Saturday evening’s first-round blow away of the usually-dependable Lewis Oakford was impressive. It’s all about getting the practice rounds in for the Jamie Moore-trained fighter, who has been busy enlisting sparring partners to help his transition from the amateur setup to the paid code.
“Sparring to me is just we’re both learning aren’t we? I’m not going to take liberties on someone and it’s all about they’re helping me out, so I give them the respect they deserve and I hope they give me the respect back, which they usually do,” he said.
“If I’m paying them they need to obviously give me some good rounds and they know that but it’s also helping them out as well as them helping me out.”
