Filip Hrgovic Smashes Through Dave Allen as Louie O’Doherty Claims British Title in Doncaster

Doncaster came alive for hometown favourite Dave Allen on Saturday night, but the dream ending never arrived. Filip Hrgovic spoiled the party in brutal fashion, battering Allen for three rounds before the towel finally came in from the corner.

The crowd never stopped backing Allen, even as the fight drifted further away from him, and the heavyweight veteran somehow still managed to leave the ring to cheers despite taking a serious beating.

Elsewhere on the Queensberry card, Louie O’Doherty boxed beautifully to lift the British and Commonwealth lightweight titles, while Michael Gomez Jnr and Lee McGregor produced six rounds of proper violence before McGregor’s corner rescued their man.

Main Event

Filip Hrgovic (20-1-0) def. Dave Allen (25-9-2) via TKO, round 3

Allen tried to get the crowd roaring from the opening seconds, but once Hrgovic settled into range the fight started looking uncomfortable very quickly.

The Croatian landed heavy shots almost at will through the first two rounds and Allen’s toughness was really the only thing keeping him in there. Hrgovic looked sharper, stronger and far more dangerous every time he let his hands go.

Allen kept trying to fire back and showed the resilience fans love him for, but this became one-way traffic. By round three, the punishment was adding up badly and the corner made the correct call by throwing in the towel.

Honestly, they probably saved Allen from taking even more damage because Hrgovic looked ready to close the show himself.

Afterwards, Hrgovic apologised to the Doncaster crowd for beating their local hero before saying he is ready for anybody next. Queensberry are reportedly targeting a summer clash with Moses Itauma, and based on this performance it is easy to see why that fight is gaining attention.

Allen was honest as ever after the stoppage.

“I’m not the best fighter in the world and got absolutely hammered, but the fans are still here at the end,” he admitted while praising his corner for stepping in when they did.

Even in defeat, Allen somehow still managed to remind everyone why British fans connect with him so much.

Co-Main / Key Fights

Louie O’Doherty (12-0-0) def. Ahmed Hatim (12-1-0) via UD, round 12

O’Doherty completely took over this fight after a competitive opening few rounds and ended up cruising to the vacant British and Commonwealth lightweight titles.

Hatim talked a big game during fight week and kept trying to pressure forward, but O’Doherty was calmer, cleaner and more accurate throughout most of the contest.

The unbeaten lightweight consistently beat Hatim to the punch and never allowed the fight to become the kind of chaotic war Hatim clearly wanted.

The scorecards told the story of a dominant performance. Judges Michael Alexander and Howard Foster both had it 118-110, while Steve Gray scored it an even wider 119-109.

Big night for O’Doherty and probably the kind of win that pushes him into much bigger domestic conversations.

Michael Gomez Jnr (23-2-0) def. Lee McGregor (16-3-1) via TKO, round 6

This was chaos from the first bell and probably the most entertaining fight on the card.

Gomez entered the ring absolutely wired, so hyped up his own team had to calm him down before the introductions were even finished. McGregor actually started sharply too, landing quick accurate shots in the opening round and showing flashes of quality early.

But Gomez’s power slowly changed the entire fight.

Every clean shot seemed to affect McGregor and as the rounds passed, Gomez grew stronger while McGregor started taking damage. McGregor was dropped in the fourth and cuts around both eyes made things even worse.

By round six, the corner had finally seen enough and threw in the towel.

There was definitely a bit too much talking and disrespect during the fight itself, but Gomez cleaned that up afterwards and gave McGregor proper credit after an action-packed scrap.

Full Undercard

Carl Fail improved to 12-0-0 after defeating Luis Enrique Montelongo Morales (18-18-0) by PTS over eight rounds at super welterweight.

Olympic gold medallist Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev moved to 2-0-0 with a six-round PTS victory over Alexis Nahuel Torres (13-16-2).

Joe Hayden stayed unbeaten at 23-0-0 after stopping Ryan Frost (3-16-0) in the fifth round. Frost was cut near the eye and dropped once in the third before another knockdown forced the stoppage in round five.

Local prospect Kian Hamilton improved to 2-0-0 with a four-round PTS win over Les Urry (2-4-1).

Bradley Casey made short work of Renars Rusins, stopping him in round two to move to 5-0-0.

John Tom Varey reached 2-0-0 after beating veteran Stephen Jackson (1-71-1) by PTS over four rounds.

One of the quickest finishes of the night came from Ted Jackson, who blasted out Mike Byles in the opening round after dropping him early.

Live Stream Prelims

Closing Thoughts

Hrgovic walked into a tough atmosphere and completely flattened it within three rounds. That was a statement.

O’Doherty also looked levels above Hatim by the end of their fight, while Gomez vs McGregor delivered the kind of messy, violent drama fans were talking about long after the bell.

Doncaster definitely got a memorable night, even if the hometown ending was a painful one.