Last Updated on October 6, 2025 by Boxing Schedule
Some men box for money. Some for fame. Dave Allen keeps fighting because, after all these years, he doesn’t know how to stop. On Saturday, October 11, at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena, the 33-year-old Doncaster heavyweight steps into the most dangerous night of his career against Canada-based powerhouse Arslanbek Makhmudov. Over 8,000 fans will be there, roaring, while millions can watch live on DAZN.
Allen, affectionately known as “The White Rhino,” is not just a cult hero anymore. He’s a man who’s survived brutal nights, public ridicule, and early retirements to reach this unexpected headline slot. After what he swears is the best training camp of his life, he’s daring to dream bigger — promoter Eddie Hearn has even teased a possible showdown with former WBC king Deontay Wilder if Allen shocks the sport.
When Is Dave Allen vs Arslanbek Makhmudov?
-
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
-
Prelims: 11:30 a.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. BST
-
Main card: 2 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. BST
-
Streaming: Live worldwide on DAZN
-
Venue: Utilita Arena Sheffield, Sheffield, England
Can the White Rhino Outlast the Bear Wrestler?
Makhmudov, 20-2 (19 KOs), is nearly 6-foot-6 and built like a foundry worker. Once feared as a wrecking ball, he’s stumbled recently but remains lethal early. He tore through the likes of Jonathan Rice, Samuel Peter, Mariusz Wach, Carlos Takam, and Raphael Akpejiori before running into real resistance. In 2023, he was dropped three times and stopped in four by Agit Kabayel. A year later, Guido Vianello shut his left eye and stopped him in eight. Yet when he returned in June, he flattened unbeaten Ricardo Brown in less than two minutes. If he lands clean, nights end.
Allen knows all this. “It’s going to be a hard fight — but it would be the biggest win of my career,” he told Matchroom Boxing. “The likes of Luis Ortiz might have been better than him. But I’ve never beaten anyone better, so I have to get everything perfect.”
Who Is Dave Allen?
Allen, 24-7-2 (19 KOs), is a 6-foot-3 heavyweight who’s spent the past decade learning boxing’s hardest lessons. He turned pro in 2012 and quickly found the deep end — losing to Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz in 2016, then to Lenroy Thomas in 2017 and Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka in 2018. He rallied in 2019 with a body-shot KO of Lucas Browne, only to be battered by David Price and stretchered out. By 2020, after a frightening sparring moment with Oleksandr Usyk, he retired.
But retirement never quite stuck. Allen returned in 2021, worked his way through lower-tier opponents, then faced Frazer Clarke in 2023, only to suffer a busted eardrum. His comeback seemed finished until he crossed paths with prospect Johnny Fisher. Allen dropped a close split decision to Fisher in December, then came back in May to stop him in five. Suddenly, the White Rhino was relevant again — and Sheffield gave him a main event.
The Rebuilt Veteran’s Last Charge
Allen has changed everything: diet, conditioning, mindset. He’s spent this camp living like a full pro and escaping stress by managing Manchester United on Football Manager. “I’ve been managing them so long they gave me a youth player called Dave Allen,” he joked. “He’s pretty good. Played for England. It’s the little wins that keep you going.”
For a man once dismissed as an easy mark, Allen arrives sharper, leaner, and desperate to prove this is more than nostalgia.
The Undercard — Prospects and Redemption Stories
-
Josh Padley (16-1, 5 KOs) vs Reece Bellotti (20-6, 15 KOs) — Junior Lightweight
Padley steps back after a ninth-round TKO loss to Shakur Stevenson in February and a rebound stoppage in April. Bellotti, a former European-level featherweight, has rebuilt at 130lbs but was halted by Ryan Garner in July. -
Junaid Bostan (10-0-1, 8 KOs) vs Bilal Fawaz (9-1-1, 3 KOs) — Junior Middleweight rematch
Their January fight ended in a draw; many believed Fawaz edged it. Both return looking to settle unfinished business.
I’ve seen heavyweights make believers out of cynics for decades. Dave Allen isn’t supposed to win — the bookmakers know it, the pundits know it. But he’s a man who’s been to the edge and came back. Makhmudov is huge and heavy-handed but flawed. If Allen weathers the early storm, drags this fight past the danger zone, and keeps that Sheffield crowd howling, things might get interesting.
But if Makhmudov finds him clean before the halfway mark? Another heavyweight dream gets folded up and put away.