Right then — fight week has properly landed in Yorkshire. Dave Allen and Filip Hrgovic meet today at 1pm at the Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster for the final press conference, two days out from Saturday night's heavyweight scrap. The doors open at 12:30pm, and you can bet there will be a healthy contingent of Yorkshire faithful in there reminding Hrgovic exactly what he is walking into on Saturday.
Let's not beat around the bush about how we got here. Hrgovic spent the back end of last week describing Allen as a 'medium' opponent. Medium. That is the kind of word that travels — particularly in a place like Doncaster, which has adopted Allen as its own and which does not take kindly to having its man dismissed by a Croatian who has himself been folded up by Daniel Dubois in the not-too-distant past.
The Schedule For The Rest Of The Week
Today's presser is the final media obligation before the boxing takes over. Friday at 5pm is the ceremonial weigh-in at Doncaster Market Place — doors at 4:30pm, and it will be properly raucous. Then the fight itself rolls in on Saturday, ten rounds at heavyweight, broadcast globally on DAZN. The whole card is stacked with British names: Maxi Hughes versus Lewis Sylvester at 140, plus a British title fight on the undercard.
How It Plays Out
Now, on paper, Hrgovic is the cleaner technician. He is an Olympic bronze medallist, his only pro loss is to Dubois, and since then he has tidied up Joe Joyce and David Adeleye. He is bigger, longer, and has the better amateur pedigree. By every traditional metric, he is the favourite, and the bookmakers agree.
But — and this is the proper boxing part — Allen has a path. He has a Yorkshire crowd that will be deafening. He has heavy hands and, crucially, he has been told all week that he is 'medium' opposition by a man who is now standing in his town. If Allen lands cleanly to the body early, this becomes a very different fight. Hrgovic's chin held up against Dubois until the very end, but he was buzzed in there. He can be hurt.
The Prediction
My read? Hrgovic by stoppage in the late rounds, probably the eighth or ninth. He is levels above Allen as a pure boxer, and across ten rounds the gap will tell. But Allen will have moments — properly meaningful moments — and Hrgovic will know he has been in a fight. Anyone expecting a stroll because they read the 'medium' quote is going to be very surprised when Allen is still there at the halfway mark, marching forward.
And make no mistake — the 'medium' line will be brought up on stage today. Allen does not need scripted comebacks. He just needs to stand there and let the room remind Hrgovic where he is. Saturday cannot come quickly enough.