Dave Allen announces retirement from Boxing
British heavyweight boxer, Dave Allen, announces his retirement from the sport ahead of a planned appearance this Saturday
The announcement comes just weeks after the cancellation of his
scheduled ring-return against Christopher Lovejoy, which fell through as
it emerged the American had undisclosed promotional ties with promoter
Don King.
With the Lovejoy fight off, Allen's return was
moved to the Benn-Formella undercard, but before an opponent could be
confirmed, he decided to make his exit from the sport, taking to
Instagram to announce the decision:
"Hello everyone, I hoped I
would never have to write this message, never mind at 28 with my last
fight being when I was 27 years old but I made the decision a few nights
ago with my sister that I would no longer from that moment on be a
professional fighter . . . the reason for me calling it a day is simple,
I don’t want to get punched anymore, long gone are the days of the kid
from donny who just wants to fight, all I want now is a nice quiet life
with a wife and some kids healthy and happy getting nice and fat."
Further
to his Instagram post, in an interview with IFL, Allen alluded to a
sparring session with Oleksandr Usyk playing a big part in his decision.
During the session, Allen took a left hand that had him unsteady on his
legs and by his own account, left him concussed.
Over a career with many up-and-downs, it's difficult to know whether Allen has over or under-achieved. He has always been open about his struggles with motivation and admits to entering most of his fights without having properly trained.
Through the years, 'The White Rhino' has shared the ring with the likes of Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz, Tony Yoka and David Price. Despite losing to all of the above, Allen put together a decent streak of wins towards the end of his career, with notable knockout victories coming against Lucas Browne and Nick Webb. He ends his career with a record of 18 wins, 5 losses and two draws.