NO MATTER the situation, Dave Allen is the type of character to nearly always land on his feet, almost like a cat that has been flung out the window too many times to count, but never so much as shudders when it enters the next house along the street.
You might call it luck, but with Allen having used up most, if not all, of his nine lives, there must be something else that enables him to keep bouncing back, even when it appears as though his turbulent career is dead and buried.
To put it simply, Dave Allen is a survivor; someone who, while perhaps more unassuming than most, remains as unlikely to yield in the heat of battle as he is to wolf down a bowl of salad.
His fleshy exterior, in that sense, is grossly misleading, as it is the 33-year-old’s deceptively efficient engine which, oddly enough, seems to represent one of his greatest attributes.
You could even compare Allen, 24-7-2 (19 KOs), to that one kid on a football pitch who, while appearing athletically inferior to the other 21 youngsters, can somehow perform an impossible amount of stepovers before seamlessly striking the ball into the back of the net.
In other words, the Yorkshireman could perhaps best be described as a natural fighter, his remarkable ability to soak up punishment and come back firing making it so that, in a matchup such as this, against the more robotic Arslanbek Makhmudov, he firmly has the upper hand.
Makhmudov, 20-2 (19 KOs), was, of course, once considered to be a formidable force in the heavyweight division – his terrifying appearance, alone, earning him a rather superficial reputation.
As Allen has proven time and again, though, looks can often be deceiving. And, in the case of Makhmudov, it was not long before his fearsome aura came crashing down.
Albeit against a world-class operator in the form of Agit Kabayel, the towering Russian was ruthlessly exposed as a fighter who, well, does not quite possess the repertoire of potent attacks that back up his imposing features.
Then, when he entered a slightly lesser, yet still risky, challenge against Guido Vianello, Makhmudov was made to look not only one-dimensional and wild in his approach, but also vulnerable when finding himself on the receiving end of heavy artillery.
Again, he was stopped inside the distance, this time against someone who is a skilled technician, yes, but not exactly known for his destructive power at world level.
For Allen, meanwhile, this really does appear to be a match made in heaven. While there is certainly a degree of jeopardy involved, especially if Makhmudov connects with one of his looping swings, Allen should nonetheless have the know-how to navigate any torrid moments.
His overhand right, in particular, represents a reliable weapon – and one which, against someone as defensively limited as Makhmudov, is likely to be available all night long.
But more than anything, it is Allen’s greater fighting instincts and added momentum – following his brutal fifth-round finish over Johnny Fisher in May – which should, in a fight at this level, make a sizable difference.
Dave Allen vs Arslanbek Makhmudov fight prediction
When the pair square off at the Sheffield Arena this Saturday, Allen is likely to be spoilt with openings to land his signature punch: that overhand right.
It may take a few rounds of patience, waiting for his most enticing opportunity to materialise, but, at some point in the middle rounds, when the ‘White Rhino’ finally connects with the shot, it should be lights out for Makhmudov.
