I think Allen has the potential to beat Mak stylistically, however he is just so slow and cumbersome, especially at the start. Not a good look against a fast starter like Mak. I'm tentatively picking Mak here. KO likely within the first 4. Allen's chances will increase with each round completed though imo. Really interested in this one.
I think Allans MO will be to avoid to much heavy fire early but try and land the odd big punch of his. If it turns into a slug fest early there's only 1 winner. Dave's got to try and mess him about and land a few hard counters.
Allen needs to score early but ensure he takes the fight to deeper waters, even if he’s down on the cards Then he can turn up the heat after 4-5 rounds
Mak's greatest attribute is his power Allen's is his chin I believe Mak is one of the few HWs who possesses the freakish power to drop and KO Allen Allen actually said he watched some of Mak's amateur bouts and he noticed he used to be a much better boxer than he is now I'm going for underdog Allen to spring the upset with his British slickness, underrated power and iron British mandible but theoretically Mak should be winning this.
Mak was the first one to put Wach on his back. I doubt he can do the same with Dave but I still expect him to win by a clobbering and the ref stepping in.
I was waiting to see what weight Allen would come in at before making a prediction. I like Allen and want to support him as a fighter, but he makes it hard, he always talks a big game (though he still emotionally hedges) but then comes in overweight, barely throws and under performs to what it seems like he could do. And him coming in at 260lbs here, after going on about how this is the best camp and he is in great shape etc, makes me lean towards a Makhmudov win, probably a late TKO. For reference Allen came in ~5lbs lighter in the first Fisher fight, where his inactivity gave the fight away (I know it was a robbery, but he could have really made it impossible to rob him if he were a bit fitter and threw a bit more, or even better had the fitness to KO Fisher.) People are talking about Allen can do the same as Kabayel and really dig to Makhmudov's body, but Kabayel is apparently very fit despite his pudgy appearance, and his movement before hand opened up Makhmudov's body for the attack. It wasn't a fluke, or a simple strategy like most make it sound.
The weight makes me think either Allen hasn't taken this as seriously as he claims he has - which is a definite possibility based on his track record - or he's purposefully come in heavier expecting Makhmudov to start quick and likely land something big early, with the aim of winning the fight down the stretch, which some extra padding could help with. I see this as either Makhmudov wins in the first 3/4 rounds, or he starts to fall apart after that and Allen steps it up.
That seemed to be his strategy in the second Fisher fight. Like I said I want to believe in Allen, but I'm not sure even he believes in Allen. I've heard it from him before and then he doesn't show up. He is a similar weight as he was in the Clarke fight and I wouldn't be surprised if this one had a similar outcome. Saying that though, Allen looks to be holding more muscle this time around than in the Clarke fight, but its hard to tell sometimes.
First paragraph is spot on really, made some really good points there. He lacks a lot of confidence and self-belief at times. I like Allen and I want him to win, but it just feels like it happens every time he beats a 'name', he suddenly gets hyped up.