Hearn Promises Allen a Top Fight if He Wins: “You’ll get Wilder, AJ”

Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn told Dave Allen he’ll land a top‑tier opponent if he wins his next fight.

“Dave is one of the strangest people I’ve ever met. I went up to Dave Allen and asked, ‘Do you want to fight Jeamie TKV?’ And he said, ‘Not really.’ I said, ‘It could be for the British title,’ and he went, ‘Alright, then let’s do it.’

Then, when Jeamie pulled out, he came back and said to me, ‘I want to fight someone really dangerous.’ I said, ‘But the money will be the same—you’ve already signed the contract.’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, but if I’m fighting someone really dangerous, I’ll train even harder because I’ll be scared.’

I’m like, ‘Mate, Dave, can’t you just train hard anyway?’ ‘No, I need to be scared.’”

“So I sent him a list of four or five fighters… I think those fights—Tony Yoka, Nelson Hysa, the Albanian lad, Otto Wallin—were all easier than the one he’s actually taken… I gave him a list, and he picked the strongest, most dangerous guy of the lot.

He says, ‘And if I beat him, what then?’ I said, ‘Honestly, if you beat this guy, you’re getting Wilder, Parker, AJ—I don’t know. You’ll get a massive fight, probably seven figures, if you win this one.’ And he says, ‘I’m in,’” Hearn said.

Dave Allen (24‑7‑2, 19 KOs) is likely to face Arslanbek Makhmudov (20‑2, 19 KOs) on 11 October, though the bout has not yet been officially announced.

Photo: Ring Magazine