After fighting him last year, Dave Allen has a warning for Tyson Fury ahead of his fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Allen put on a good display last year when he took on the 6ft 6 Russian. Early on, he put him under plenty of pressure, but never quite made it show, and Makhmudov got a foothold with his solid jabs and big right hands to eventually run out a points winner after 12 rounds.
Makhmudov has not fought since, and will go straight into a showdown with Fury in April, when he will hope to capitalise on the fact that the former WBC champion will not have fought for more than 15 months.
Last time he was in the ring, ‘The Gypsy King’ was beaten by unanimous decision by Oleksandr Usyk, just seven months after he lost the first fight in May.
Speaking to Seconds Out, ‘The White Rhino’ warned Fury about Makhmudov’s power.
“I think the main thing is he hits really hard. If he hits Tyson, he’ll flatten Tyson, but he has to hit him. It’s not an easy feat, so I think it’s a good match, an interesting match, ’cause Makhmudov does hit hard enough to hurt him.
“But if Tyson is as good as he was when we last saw him, then I think he will win. I think he will take him seriously because he knows he can punch.”
Makhmudov has won 21 of his 23 fights, with two stoppage losses to Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello the only blemishes on his record.
