British heavyweight Dave Allen should be able to expose Christopher Lovejoy this weekend when the pair meet in London.
That’s the view of US agent Steve Tannenbaum, a keen follower of WBN, who has been associated with several top fighters over the years, including heavies Larry Holmes and Jerry Quarry.
Tannenbaum sees many parallels between Allen and Quarry.
With Allen’s upcoming fight this Saturday against American heavyweight Christopher Lovejoy, Tannenbaum weighed-in with some interesting observations.
“I was a friend of Jerry’s and actually consulted with and did some PR work on him late in his career,” Tannenbaum exclusively told World Boxing News.
“His manager/trainer Gil Clancy introduced Jerry to me when I was a kid in the 1970s, and I stayed in touch with him throughout the years.
“I think Dave Allen is one of the best white heavyweights since Quarry. He’s not a limited fighter; Allen’s vastly underrated by the public and boxing community.
“He takes a great shot, is very heavy-handed, and punches with a good deal of authority with either hand. In fact, he may have the best short left hook to the body I’ve seen since Quarry.
“Allen mixes up his punches very well with decent hand speed. Besides, Allen has an excellent boxing brain and knows how to slip punches when he’s switched on.
“In person, he’s very charming and is genuinely smart, not just glib. Allen is a promoter’s dream. The whole package is there.
“He made some wrong decisions early in his career and was put in with guys that he should have never shared the ring with, which accounts for his somewhat checkered record.”
Asked by WBN how he would explain Allen’s loss to David Price, Tannenbaum added: “Allen like Quarry has one weakness: Demons haunt him. Emotionally he snapped.
“Whether you’re a believer in him or not, no one could have imagined Allen ever quitting on the stool as he did against Price.
“Why didn’t he pressure Price early and make him gas out? The blueprint was there for him to follow. I was sure he’d make Price fold within six or seven rounds.
“What was his corner telling him? I think the demons set in when things weren’t going his way, and emotionally he cracked.
“I saw the same thing when Jerry fought Frazier in their second fight. He started to fall apart in the fourth round, and I believe, gave up in the fifth in which the referee halted the contest ostensibly due to severe cuts.
“Jerry came in very light for that fight at just 197 1/2 lbs, and it was on his mind when he stepped into the ring.
“He came back to his corner at the end of the first round. He told Clancy that he felt weak. After that, he was doomed.”
DAVE ALLEN vs LOVEJOY
Tannenbaum continued by airing his views on this weekend’s clash with 19-0 world-ranked anomaly Lovejoy.
“My gut feeling is that Allen will excel in fighting in ‘The Bubble’ atmosphere as he won’t have the pressure to please an audience.
“With this emotional baggage off his shoulders, I expect him to be vicious and tenacious in his attack. Then stop Lovejoy inside of five rounds.
“Lovejoy has an undefeated 19-0 record with all first-round knockouts. Mac Foster was also undefeated with 24 straight wins-all KO’s. A record when he fought Quarry.
“Foster was stopped in the sixth after Quarry broke him down. Foster was a solid heavyweight and highly ranked who went on a couple of years later to go fifteen rounds with a still young Muhammad Ali.
“Lovejoy, on the other hand, has a very dubious record as all his wins are coming in Tijuana, Mexico, and all but one of his opponents had losing records.
“In fact, the one guy he beat with a winning record has been knocked out seven straight times since losing to Lovejoy.
“I suspect he can bang a little bit – even if he’s stopped a bunch of Tijuana taxi drivers.
“Dave Allen, I suspect will whack him to the body early. Then smash him after a few rounds. After that, I think Lovejoy will pretty much vanish from the sport.”
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
