Johnny Fisher vs Dave Allen 2 LIVE RESULT: Fisher given oxygen after brutal first loss of career – latest reaction
JOHNNY FISHER has been STOPPED by Dave Allen after a savage TKO defeat.
The thrilling rematch was warming up nicely at the Copper Box with Fisher winning all of the first four rounds, before Allen left Fisher requiring oxygen after a brutal finish.
On the undercard, George Liddard and Kieron Conway both picked up big wins with the pair on a collision course.
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Back-breaking support
Fans have taken to social media to marvel at Pat Brown giving the mighty Dave Allen a lift on his shoulders after last night's fight.
One said on X: "Any news on Pat Brown's back?"
Another said: "He went home 6 inches shorter than when he arrived."
One thing is for sure - Johnny Fisher wouldn't have been the only one waking up sore this morning.
Credit: PA Not a lighter fighter
Dave Allen spoke after the fight about the major risk he took putting on weight to face Johnny Fisher again.
He said: "I put a bit of weight on due to the body shots more than anything else.
"Excess body weight is never usually good but for Johnny Fisher I knew it would pay dividends.
"So I put the weight on, took the risk."
No love lost
All is fair in love and war for Dave Allen who called opponent Johnny Fisher the 'nicest kid in the world' after his KO.
He said in the ring after the fight: "He is my friend.
"I said in my first press conference, if my son is half the man Johnny Fisher is now I'd be over the moon.
"And I mean that, I meant it all the way through."
Fan favourite
Allen didn't just win the long-awaited Fisher rematch last night, he won the fans too.
One fan took to X to call him 'the people's heavyweight champion'.
Headclash MMA said: "Dave Allen is a national treasure."
This came after his post-fight interview where he got excited about potentially having an en-suite and called himself 'the fattest, hardest man you'll ever see'.
Allen returns to Matchroom
After Dave Allen's huge win over Johnny Fisher last night Eddie Hearn has confirmed that the star will be a Matchroom-promoted fighter again.
The promoter said via IFL TV: "Moving forward, Dave is back with us at Matchroom.
"I'm delighted, he's a big profile and he's got massive support.
"I see Dave trying to keep active and look at what the future could hold."
Relive the action
SunSport's boxing guru, Wally Downes Jr, brings you a comprehensive report on last night's brutal main event.
THAT knockout in pictures
Credit: PA 
Fisher reacts
Johnny Fisher took to Instagram to thank supporters after his shock defeat to Dave Allen last night.
In a short video, he said: "Hello everyone, thank you to everyone that came and bought a ticket and supported me tonight and everyone who watched, I really appreciate the support.
"Listen, this is what boxing is all about, sometimes you get beat, sometimes you lose on the night. I wasn't good enough tonight, but that's what boxing is all about. That's what sport is all about.
"The best people keep coming and keep going, and they don't let one little blip get them down.
"Thank you, everyone, we're gonna come back and we're gonna do it well. Bosh."
Credit: PA Will there be a rematch?
A lot of the post-fight talk has been about whether these two should face each other in a rematch.
The excitement will definitely be there from the fans given the excitiement of the first fight and the brilliance from Allen in the second.
But Johnny Fisher may want to carefully consider what a second loss to Allen - plus a controversial win in the first - might do to his career.
Eddie Hearn confirmed there IS a rematch clause after the fight.
Dave Allen said he does not want to fight Fisher again as they are good friends and it'll be bad for his career.
Stats
CompuBox punch stats normally tell a pretty decent story of the fight and they do exactly that here.
The first round was cagey before Fisher through with much more volume and effectiveness in rounds two, three and four.
Round five is where it matters though, with Dave Allen landing 21 power punches - at 56.3% accuracy - to get Fisher out of there.
ICYMI
And if you missed that incredible KO, here it is again.
Incredible stuff.
The morning after
Well, what a night of boxing that was.
Not content with putting on one of the best fights of the year in 2024, Dave Allen and Johnny Fisher have just given us a contender for knockout of the year.
In front of a packed crowd, Fisher started pretty well and looked well ahead in the first four rounds.
He worked behind his jab and mixed it up with a few nice body shots and uppercuts that had Allen hurting.
But the old veteran - who had packed on weight to absorb those body shots - turned it up in round five.
He landed a thrilling combination to send Fisher falling to the floor and then pounced on him to produce an absolutely stunning KO.
It was a perfect left hook that had the Fisher corner throwing in the towel.
'One of the good lads'
Former British and Commonwealth champion Paul Smith also weighed in on Allen being a top bloke.
He posted on social media: "Hard not to like Dave Allen.
"I didn’t want to see him fighting and would now like to see him get a British title if he can.
"One of the good lads."
Woodhouse has his say
Curtis Woodhouse also joined the masses at congratulating Dave Allen.
He posted: "The Doncaster Del La Hoya! What a guy!
"It’s impossible to not be happy for him isn’t it and what a finish!!!
"WOW! Hope Johnny Fisher is OK, that was a terrible knockout, it’s easy to forget how brutal heavyweight boxing is."
Full results
Well that was a really incredible night of boxing action inside the Copper Box.
Not only did we an incredible KO to top off the action but there was drama across the undercard.
Up and coming prospect George Liddard scored a beautiful TKO victory of his own, as did Kieron Conway.
Those two could meet next in what would be a really exciting bought for the British middleweight title.
- Dave Allen beats Johnny Fisher - TKO
- George Liddard beats Aaron Sutton - TKO
- Kieron Conway beats Gerome Warburton - TKO
- Jimmy Sains beats Gideon Oneynani - UD
- John Hedges beats Nathan Quarless - UD
- Shannon Ryan beats Fara El Bousairi - PTS
- Taylor Bevan beats Juan Cruz Cacheiro - TKO
- Emmanuel Buttigieg beats Novak Radulovic - TKO
Fisher latest
There has been no further update on Johnny Fisher's condition or if he need any more medical checks than the one he received in the ring.
He was pictured in the dressing room after the fight with both his dad, Big John, and then chatting to Dave Allen.
Fisher wasn't cleared for any post-fight media duties but it certainly appears that there have been no ill-effects from the huge KO.
'Learn and improve'
Boxing coach and analyst Dave Coldwell believes Johnny Fisher can come back from here despite the brutal nature of that KO.
He wrote on social media: "Johnny Fisher is still a young prospect at 26. It’s a bad, brutal loss and something that he needs to learn and improve from.
"But we’ve seen fighters come back from losses like that before.
"So let’s get behind the comeback rather than rip the kid to shreds.
"Boxing is a cold & lonely enough sport when you lose.
"He doesn’t need a pile on."
Coldwell had earlier posted: "Absolutely sensational from Dave Allen! So composed, and a brutal finish.
"After a long hard career, I think he’s just got himself an invite to the heavyweight party."
He also wrote that he did not want to see a trilogy.
'Deserves his moment'
Charlie Edwards was one of thousands of fight fans congratulating Dave Allen on a truly incredible win.
The former flyweight world champ said: "So happy for Dave Allen he deserves his moment!
"Hard luck to Johnny Fisher he is a true gentleman of the game!"
First ever title
Despite his long and rollercoaster career in the sport, tonight was the first time that Dave Allen has ever got his hands on a belt in the professional ranks.
It was the WBA intercontinental belt.
Allen also said he wants to try and win the British title.
We also reckon he could get a stadium fight - we hope those at Doncaster Rovers were watching that tonight.
Brutal
Here's how the stunning finish came out.
Absolute brutal perfection from Dave Allen.
Wally Downes Jr's fight report
Here's how SunSport's boxing correspondent Wally Downes Jr saw the fight.
DAVE ALLEN scored a knockout of the year contender to brutally finish his Johnny Fisher rivalry.
The 33-year-old Doncaster man was on the wrong end of a controversial decision against the Romford ticket seller, 26 in December in Saudi Arabia.
But he snatched his career out of the hands of the judges at Stratford’s Copper Box by smashing Fisher in the fifth round with a brilliant left hook, leaving the brave history graduate needing oxygen.
Read the rest here:
Nothing from Fisher
We won't be hearing from Johnny Fisher tonight because the British Boxing Board of Control will not allow him to speak.
It's not clear if he will be making his way to hospital tonight, but that was a vicious KO and they may decide it's best if he gets properly checked over.
We'll provide an update if and when we get one.
Will they meet again?
While Eddie Hearn mentioned a rematch clause, Allen said he's not interested.
The White Rhino said: "I wouldn’t allow [a trilogy fight] to happen, because it’s not in his best interests."
More from Allen
This was Allen's in-ring interview in a bit more depth: "I knew the first fight did me a world of good.
"I put a bit of weight on, I knew it would pay dividends, took the risk. I’m the fattest, hardest man you’ll ever see.
"You know what it means? The belt, everything.
"My kids, yeah - I’m gonna have an en suite, they’ll have their own bathroom between them.
"At this level, I’m a handful. He overexaggerated the movement, which worked against him.
"I’ve got experience, I know the game inside-out. I’m him, but with 30 more fights basically.
"He’s my friend. He’s a very good friend of mine."
'Cinderella story'
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn said: "If anyone was gonna break your heart, you’d want it to be Dave Allen. It’s a real Cinderella story.
"Changed his life again, but this time in a big, big way. He just knew too much in there.
"Johnny, the board wouldn’t let him do an interview, he’s a brave man. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken the rematch, but he wanted to put the wrongs right.
"Johnny’s got to come back and rebuild.”
Hearn mentions a rematch clause, but says it’s one for "down the line."
