How to Watch Dave Allen vs. Filip Hrgovic

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Dave Allen vs. Filip Hrgovic is on Saturday, May 16. The broadcast will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. BST).

The fight is taking place at Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster, England.

This fight is being billed as “Dave vs. Goliath,” and that’s not just a play on words given Allen’s first name, nor is it due to the height difference between the 6-foot-3 Allen and the 6-foot-6 Filip Hrgovic. The reality is that Allen is an entertaining and amiable but otherwise limited heavyweight – while Hrgovic, for all his flaws, should be levels above.

That won’t keep Allen from trying, if his career is a guide. And as we saw with David Morrell vs. Zak Chelli this past weekend, big upsets can and do happen.

Allen, 25-8-2 (20 KOs), is a 34-year-old from Doncaster, which means he’ll be spurred on by his hometown crowd. This is a great opportunity for him after more than 13 years in the sport. Allen turned pro in late 2012, lost a pair of fights in 2016 to Dillian Whyte (UD10) and Luis Ortiz (TKO7) and dropped a split decision in 2017 to the 20-4 Lenroy Thomas. In 2018, Allen was dispatched in the 10th round by Tony Yoka, an Olympic gold medalist who has underwhelmed in the paid ranks.

But Allen put together a four-match win streak, including a third-round body shot KO of Lucas Browne in 2019. That landed him a bout three months later with David Price, who battered Allen so badly that he was taken out of the ring on a stretcher. By the end of 2020, Allen considered the damage he’d taken, as well as a frightening moment in a sparring session with Oleksandr Usyk, and decided to hang up his gloves.

As often happens, the retirement didn’t last. Allen came back in August 2021 and picked up three victories over no-hopers before taking on Frazer Clarke in September 2023. That fight ended after six rounds due to Allen suffering a busted eardrum. In 2024, Allen added two more wins against foes with a combined record of 10-39.

He was then going to be fed to undefeated prospect Johnny Fisher in December 2024. Instead, Allen showed that he wasn’t quite done yet, especially against someone as flawed as Fisher. Allen dropped Fisher in the fifth, yet he had to settle for a split decision loss. Allen didn’t let the rematch go to the scorecards, beating Fisher via fifth-round TKO.

That landed Allen in a main event in Sheffield last October against Arslanbek Makhmudov. Allen lost a unanimous decision but returned this past February, making short work of a 12-10 opponent. Hrgovic is better than Makhmudov. But will the unranked Allen somehow be able to pull off the upset?

Filip Hrgovic, 19-1 (14 KOs), is a 33-year-old from Croatia who won a bronze medal in the 2016 Olympics in the super heavyweight tournament, losing to eventual gold medalist Tony Yoka in the semifinals.

Hrgovic turned pro in September 2017, and his true breakout victory came five years later, when he was awarded a unanimous decision over Zhilei Zhang – who won Olympic silver in 2008. Hrgovic then added two TKOs over lower-tier heavyweights before meeting up with Daniel Dubois in June 2024.

The IBF’s interim heavyweight title was on the line, and it was expected that the winner would soon be upgraded. After all, primary titleholder (and undisputed champion) Oleksandr Usyk was moving forward with his rematch against Tyson Fury and would not be available to meet the Hrgovic-Dubois victor. Alas, it was not to be for Hrgovic, who landed some good shots and took some huge shots, but was stopped on cuts in the eighth round.

The rebuilding began 10 months later, when Hrgovic stepped in with Joe Joyce. He was cut again, and early at that, but made it through the full fight for a unanimous decision. Still, it was fair to question Hrgovic’s struggles with defense and endurance – especially given that this was a highly faded version of Joyce who was coming off a loss to Derek Chisora and was bearing the effects of a career’s worth of heavy blows.

In his most recent bout, Hrgovic faced the 14-1 David Adeleye on the undercard of Moses Itauma-Dillian Whyte last August. Aside from a frightening moment in the eighth round, Hrgovic controlled the action en route to a wide decision. He is currently rated No. 2 by the WBO, No. 5 by the WBC, No. 6 by the WBA and No. 8 by the IBF.

What other fights are on the undercard of Dave Allen vs. Filip Hrgovic?

The undercard includes a lightweight bout between Michael Gomez Jnr, 22-2 (7 KOs), and Lee McGregor, 16-2-1 (11 KOs); as well as a battle of lightweight prospects Louie O'Doherty, 11-0 (3 KOs), and Ahmed Hatim, 12-0 (3 KOs).

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.