The Proper Fight On A Farewell Card
Right then, everybody in Ireland is talking about Katie Taylor this week and rightly so, but the fight on Saturday's Croke Park card with the most needle in it is the heavyweight one. Dublin's own Thomas Carty against Dave Allen, the Doncaster White Rhino, in front of 82,000 people who will make no secret of who they are there to see. Carty called it the Carty Party at Wednesday's open workout. Allen has heard that sort of thing before.
Make no mistake, this is not a gimme for the home fighter. Allen is 34, he has been in with far better than Carty, and he has one thing very few heavyweights at this level possess: a chin that simply does not go anywhere.
The Towel
Which brings us to the elephant in the ring. Allen's last big night ended with his corner throwing the towel in after three rounds against Filip Hrgovic — a stoppage that plenty of people, Allen included, felt came far too early for a man who was not hurt. Then Hrgovic went and stopped Moses Itauma at the O2 to become a world champion, and suddenly Allen's defeat carries a world-champion upgrade on his record. The advice being shouted at him from every corner of British boxing this week is the same: keep the towel on the hook and let Dave decide when the fight is over.
Allen Bounced Straight Back
To his credit, Allen did not sulk. He was back in the ring 36 days after Hrgovic for a four-rounder, and he has taken this fight in a hostile stadium when he could have picked something softer. That tells you the man still believes. Whether the body still agrees with him is Saturday's question.
How Carty Wins
Carty is a big southpaw with a long jab and the sort of angles that give orthodox pressure fighters headaches. If he keeps Allen on the end of the stick, turns him and makes him reset every twenty seconds, the crowd does the rest. If he stands and trades because 82,000 people are screaming for it, he is in a fight — because Allen will walk through the jab, close the distance and let his hands go early. That is the only way Dave wins, and he knows it.
Luke's Verdict
Let's not beat around the bush. Carty is the fresher man with the bigger toolbox and a home crowd that will sound like a jet engine. Allen is the braver man with the harder head. I have Carty winning on the cards, clearly enough, but with a couple of rounds in the middle where Dublin goes very quiet. And if Allen's corner reaches for the towel this time, I expect Dave to throw it back at them. A proper heavyweight fight on a night everybody will remember for other reasons. Full Croke Park coverage on our news page.