Dave Allen is reportedly set to face Arslanbek Makhmudov this autumn.
‘The White Rhino’ is riding high following a destructive knockout win over Johnny Fisher in his last outing and will now take a big step up in competition against 6ft 5in behemoth Makhmudov.
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Allen is set to return to the ring in October at the Utilita Arena in SheffieldCredit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom
According to Uncrowned, the heavyweight titans will square off on October 11 at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield – 30 minutes down the road from Allen’s hometown of Doncaster.
Allen claims he was offered five names for his upcoming clash, and landed on his choice of opponent as he was the only one that ‘scared’ him.
“After weeks of back and forth with [Eddie Hearn] about my next opponent last week, he sent me a list of 5, all 5 I thought would be big favourites against me,” Allen wrote on Instagram.
“But only one of them actually scared me, so with that, I chose him in the hope after all these years, he helps me put in the perfect training camp and can put me on the world heavyweight stage.
“He could also knock me into [the] middle of next week, but gotta be in it to win.”
Eddie Hearn responded to the post by writing: “This is a very strange mindset and one ballsy choice of opponents.
“Going to be an all-out war, and victory will take you to a mega fight.”
Makhmudov (20-2) tore through his first 18 opponents like a freight train before coming unstuck against Agit Kabayel in December 2023 via a fourth-round body shot knockout.
The enormous Russian then suffered another setback at the hands of Italian Olympian Guido Vianello, who left him with a cricket ball-sized hematoma on the left side of his face last August.
Makhmudov returned to the ring four weeks ago to dispatch Pan American bronze medallist Rico Brown inside the opening stanza and will now continue his arduous climb back up the heavyweight mountain against Allen.
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His opponent, Makhmudov, is one of the most physically imposing heavyweights in the sport
Allen (24-7-2) injected new life into his career by blasting Fisher away in five rounds in May.
It was a rematch of their controversial inaugural encounter, which Fisher won via a disputed split decision that most felt Allen had done enough to win.
The victory earned him a contract with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
And while there had been talk of Allen duking it out with Deontay Wilder next, it appears he will have to get through Makhmudov before getting his hands on the former WBC heavyweight champion.
Who else is on the card?
A British and Commonwealth middleweight title fight between champion Kieron Conway (23-3-1) and challenger George Liddard (12-0) is expected to act as chief support for Allen’s Yorkshire homecoming.
Meanwhile, an English super welterweight title rematch between Junaid Bostan (10-0-1) and Bilal Fawaz (9-1-1) is also set to feature.
The event will be promoted by Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and will be streamed live on DAZN.