Dave Allen targets British title fight in 2023 after latest comeback win

Conisbrough’s Allen made light work of his latest comeback win on Saturday when he dispatched fellow Brit Michael Bassett inside the first minute of their scheduled four-round fight.

The bout took place on a Fightzone show in Malta which also saw Bentley flyweight Craig Derbyshire lose out on points to Connor Butler in their battle for the vacant Commonwealth title.

Allen told The Free Press he planned to box again in May over six to eight rounds before potentially targeting a shot at the Lonsdale Belt after the summer.

After boxing just eight rounds in three years, the 'White Rhino' said he ‘did not feel ready’ to step up too soon.

Allen fought the likes of Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz and Lucas Browne in the first chapter of his career, KO’ing the latter in 2019 in arguably his finest hour in the ring to date.

But defeat to former Olympic bronze medallist David Price in 2019 halted his upward trajectory and his career has never recovered since.

Allen had been set to fight Alexander Povetkin had he beaten Price.

He made a brief comeback with a win over Dorian Darch at Sheffield Arena in February 2020 before a 16-month spell of inactivity.

His win over Bassett came 11 months after his last outing.

Still, Allen remains inside the top 10-ranked British heavyweights according to BoxRec.

Fabio Wardley (15-0) has held the British heavyweight title since November.