By Trevor McIntyre: High-level journeyman Dave Allen (13-4-2, 10 KOs) smashed the previously unbeaten 30-year-old Nick Webb (12-1, 10 KOs) in stopping him in the 4th round in a British heavyweight title eliminator on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Fighting on the undercard of the Dillian Whyte vs. Joseph Parker card on Sky Box Office, Allen, 26, hurt the 6’5” Webb with a big right hand to the head in the 4th round. Allen then nailed Webb with a hard left hook to the midsection followed by a looping right hand to the head that flattened him. Webb was too hurt to get back to his feet.
As hurt as Webb was, he would have likely been poleaxed by Allen if he’d gotten up. Allen’s punching power was more than what the tired-looking Webb could take at that point of the fight. Webb had exhausted himself trying to KO the steel-chinned Allen in the first three rounds. By the 4th, Webb was fighting on fumes and there to be knocked out by Allen.
Allen’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing was ecstatic about the results of the fight, as he had previously been hoping to match Webb against unbeaten 2016 Olympic super heavyweight Silver medalist Joe Joyce (5-0, 5 KOs), who chose not to take the match. Hearn turned his fights to Allen and offered him good money to step in and take the fight on short notice. Allen readily accepted the match. It was thought by many that Allen would be easy work for the hard-hitting Webb, but he proved his doubters wrong by knocking him out.
“It was one of the most dramatic fights I’ve seen at the O2,” Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn said to IFL TV said about the Allen vs. Webb fight.
The victory for Allen makes him the mandatory to British heavyweight champion Hughie Fury. Whether Allen gets the fight with the 23-year-old Hughie is unclear. Hughie has a chance to fight Kubrat Pulev in an International Boxing Federation heavyweight title eliminator if he wishes.
Allen came into the Webb fight with a huge advantage in experience having fought Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz, Dillian Whyte, Tony Yoka and Lenroy Thomas. The experience that Allen had going for him proved to be too much for Webb.
”After the second round, I said he’s tiring,” Allen said to IFL TV about Webb. ”I knew he couldn’t do 10 rounds. He was never going to chin me. I told Eddie to get me the Webb fight. He just offered me really good money. I’d have took it for half. I want the British title. I think I’ll take the rest of the year off. When he went down, I said, ‘Please stop it.’ I would have finished him off. I hope he’s alright and I think he is.”
Allen came into the fight tonight having been stopped in the 10th round by Tony Yoka on June 23 in Paris, France. Allen looked flabby and tired throughout the contest with Yoka. Tonight, Allen was a much different fighter having trained hard to lose weight and build his conditioning. Allen absorbed Webb’s best shots in the first three rounds. By the fourth round, Webb was there to be knocked out, which is exactly what Allen did.
With all the punishment Allen took in the first three rounds from Webb, it looked like he was heading towards his fifth career defeat. Webb was throwing really hard head shots that Allen was taking without throwing much back. It looked like Allen’s strategy for the fight was to absorb Webb’s best shots until he tired out. Of course, that’s exactly what happened in the fight.
“That was a life-changing moment. That was worth everything,” Allen said to Sky Sports after the fight. “I want to thank everyone, and I would thank them all individually, but the big thank you must be to myself for being who I am. I am never going to be world champion but I knew I could compete at this level.”