Johnny Fisher’s controversial win over Dave Allen didn’t even convince his own father, who felt his son lost for the first time as a professional.
The fan favorite heavyweights clashed in Riyadh as part of a star-studded undercard for Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s world title rematch. Fisher came in as a monstrous favorite to beat Allen, who had been stopped four times previously and was in the midst of yet another late-career comeback.
However, the Doncaster native put on the performance of a lifetime and seemed to clearly win, particularly after putting Fisher down in the fifth. In a controversial split decision, though, Fisher was awarded the victory.
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Johnny Fisher lands wildly controversial win over Dave Allen
In the first big heavyweight bout of the night in Riyadh, it was expected that Johnny Fisher would take a comfortable win against Dave Allen. The Romford Bull has been on the rise for years, and all but one of his fights had gone the distance to date.
Meanwhile, Allen has been known as something of a barometer in the UK heavyweight scene, testing prospects but generally losing on the biggest stage. However, he overcame adversity in the early rounds and looked the better over the ten.
Allen even had Fisher down in the fifth, and unloaded the tank as he pushed for the knockout. From that point on, it looked as though the popular Essex native struggled to get his feet back under him, and it looked to all watching as though the underdog had done enough to win.
However, when the judges’ scorecards were read out, it was Fisher who took the win by split decision. The result was widely booed and an emotional Allen was visibly angered by what was happening as arguably his biggest win to date appeared to be stolen from him.
One Direction star Louis Tomlinson leads the charge in slamming Dave Allen result
The result caused mass upset on social media, with fans and experts all coming to the conclusion that Allen had done enough to warrant a victory. One leading voice was One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, who was a schoolmate of the fighter in Doncaster.
Tomlinson made a rare appearance on X to share a message to his 37million+ fans: “What an incredible performance from Dave Allen with so much on the line and so much pressure. Absolutely robbed from the judges. You did yourself proud mate!”
This was an opinion widely held by other viewers, with one adding: “That’s an absolutely horrific robbery Horrific. Johnny Fisher did not win that fight. I’m no Dave Allen fan, but that’s a disgraceful call. Disgusting.”
Johnny Fisher’s dad admits Dave Allen should have won controversial fight
And it appears that even Fisher’s own family believed that the result should have gone the other way. In a video shared to the Queensberry Promotions Instagram page, Allen could be seen embracing John Fisher sr, who is also a notorious social media personality.
“Dave, listen,” he could be seen saying in an emotional moment. “Great fight, it is what it is, I thought you edged it, I thought you just edged it but you showed heart and showed courage.”
Allen then told the elder Fisher that he felt the promotion were pushing his son too quickly to a level he is not yet ready for at just 25-years-old.
John Fisher has since made a more measured statement on social media which read: “Thank you everyone who supported both boxers tonight. A brutal fight that shows how hard boxing is.
“Johnny is ok a bit emotional and just wanted to make sure he showed heart. Big love to Dave Allen who showed his class.”
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