That term- legend- is bandied about far too casually these days, but Ricky Hatton truly was a legend and he will go down as one of the top British Boxers of any Division. A bonafide World Champion and arguably a pound for pound top tenner at his very best, Ricky Hatton was the People's Champion and that drove huge crowds to want to see him fight.
He might have suffered losses to Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao that haunted him, as Hatton himself spoke about so honestly, but he was a huge part of some monster events and stories about the British drinking Las Vegas dry for the first of those fights will be spoken about for years to come.
The biggest appeal about Ricky Hatton wasn't just the great fighter he was, nor the fact that he was a hugely entertaining fighter, but he was someone that never lost touch with his roots and had time for everyone who wanted to spend some time in his company.
Not many people that reached his levels of fame and fortune keep their feet firmly on the ground, but that was a major reason as to why Ricky Hatton was so beloved.
All of the tributes and the huge amount of fans lining up for his funeral procession underlined Hatton's status and you can only hope that he is at peace and knows how much he meant to so many.
RIP Champ.
There are likely to be plenty of emotions on display in Sheffield on Saturday night when Dave Allen enters the ring- he was friends with Ricky Hatton having suffered through mental anguish of his own and Allen will want to prolong what has been an unexpected late surge in his career.
He has a tough fight as he looks to push onto the elite competition in the Heavyweight Division, while over in Philadelphia, Jaron Ennis begins his path in a new Division after moving up from Welterweight into the Light Middleweight ranks.
It has been almost a month since the big Canelo-Crawford fight out in Las Vegas, but the promoters are promising a fun end to the 2025 calendar year as we enter the final quarter.
There are some decent cards in place, although we have just lost the Sebastian Fundora vs Keith Thurman main event scheduled for the end of October- that has been postponed after Fundora suffered a hand injury, although the card will still run on Amazon Prime.
November has some big shows attached in the middle of the month, but in the coming days, the schedule should really be fattened up, which is only positive news for the fans.
Dave Allen vs Arslanbek Makhmudov
A controversial draw with up and coming Johnny Fisher was quickly put right by Dave Allen in a rematch in May and that has just given his career a late push in a positive direction.
The White Rhino has retired and returned once already and Dave Allen has admitted that he was not always the most focused fighter out there.
This led to some really disappointing performances and Allen looked completely done when failing to come out of the Seventh Round against Frazer Clarke in September 2023. He returned in April 2024 and won a couple of low profile bouts before being given the opportunity to take on Johnny Fisher and Allen's upsetting of the unbeaten fighter has given him a lift.
He looks focused and there is no denying that Dave Allen has gotten into very good shape ahead of this crossroads fight.
A win and Dave Allen may be in line to face someone like Deontay Wilder, but a defeat likely spells the end of any late resurgence and the fighter may be more likely to think about retirement or a potential third fight with Johnny Fisher next year.
Crossroads has to be the situation for Arslanbek Makhmudov who had a big reputation when joining a loaded Saudi card back in December 2023.
A big man with a big punching record saw his reputation collapse as he was Stopped in Four Rounds by Agit Kabayel and Makhmudov has suffered another Stoppage defeat to Guido Vianello since then. It means two losses in four fights and Arslanbek Makhmudov has fought a single Round since August 2024, which has to be a factor.
Dave Allen has been in with some of the top names of recent times in this Division so it is not a fight where he is going to be intimidated by the Boxer standing across the ring.
However, he is under no illusion as to how tough this contest is going to be, especially early when Arslanbek Makhmudov is fresh. Some of the criticism of Dave Allen is that he has little movement and standing in front of a big hitter like Makhmudov could be asking for a whole world of trouble.
In saying that, Dave Allen has to feel the edge is with him if this progresses past the first third of the scheduled Twelve Rounds.
We have seen Arslanbek Makhmudov run out of steam and the body shots clearly had a huge impact on him in his defeat to Agit Kabayel. This has to be something that Allen's team have noticed and it may pay to find a way through the early Rounds and sap some of the energy of the Russian before turning the screw.
The 'away' fighter will not be lacking for motivation with some reports suggesting that Makhmudov would be the leading name for Anthony Joshua's return bout if he is able to beat Dave Allen.
It should mean both are willing to put it all on the line, but the feeling since the fight was made is that Dave Allen is as focused as he has ever been and he will find the reserves to come through with a middle third Stoppage. He will have to weather an early storm, but doing so should see Allen show off a deeper stamina and that may see Arslanbek Makhmudov wilt once again.
There are a couple of decent fights on the undercard that may be worth an interest.
Junaid Boston looked to be rolling early in his career, but was very fortunate to earn a Draw when facing Bilal Fawaz back in January in London.
Even Promoter Eddie Hearn felt his fighter had been beaten, but this feels like a Ben Whittaker kind of situation where an impressive fighter with a huge amount of expectation just was not prepared as well as he should have been.
Ben Whittaker made sure he showed the levels he has when crushing Liam Cameron in the rematch of his own controversial Draw, and Junaid Boston may do the same here. He ran out of steam in the first fight, but a focused Boston can wear down a tough Bilal Fawaz and put a statement down with a late Stoppage.
After giving Shakur Stevenson some Rounds as a late replacement, there is little doubt that Josh Padley's stock has risen and he is now a full-time Boxer.
He had already upset Mark Chamberlain to move onto the Saudi radar and Padley has now aligned with Matchroom as his permanent Promoter.
He will have to prove himself when going in with Reece Bellotti who has found his ceiling, but who has regularly continued to upset the odds as a gatekeeper.
The latter was last out in July when being Stopped by Ryan Garner in the Twelfth Round as Bellotti dropped his British and Commonwealth Titles and the short turnaround is tough.
With a bit more time to prepare, Reece Bellotti may have looked a really appealing price, but the likelihood is that Josh Padley wins that one on the cards.
Over in Philadelphia, the hope of all Boxing fans is that Jaron Ennis can finally get on a run and PROVE that he is one of the best fighters out there.
His talent is undeniable, but three fights since July 2023 cannot be good enough for a 28 year old hitting his peak.
Back in April, Jaron Ennis had a crushing win over Eimantas Stanionis and that is an impressive victory... However, his resume is really not as good as it could be and the move into the Light Middleweight Division offers a chance to really become a household name in American Boxing.
This is a loaded Division with some really fun looking fights that could be made- most will think about finally seeing Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr go at it, but the likes of Sebastian Fundora, Bakhram Murtazaliev and Xander Zayas could all help Jaron Ennis turn into an elite pound for pound name.
Big names are all around the 154 pound Division, but Jaron Ennis will begin with Uisma Lima who has won four in a row since losing to Aaron McKenna.
None of those wins will concern Jaron Ennis and Uisma Lima will have to use the Southpaw stance to see if he can frustrate the home fighter.
Uisma Lima is Ranked in the top ten by three of the governing bodies, but Jaron Ennis needs to show where he is as a fighter and the expectation is that he will break down the 32 year old somewhere in the middle Rounds.
On the undercard, Guido Vianello is looking to get back on track having lost two of his last three fights, although the one victory was against Arslanbek Makhmudov who is headlining in Sheffield, England.
He is up against unbeaten Alexis Barriere, but this is a big step up for the Canadian Heavyweight.
The Italian has been in with fighters who are pushing towards the top of the Heavyweight Division and Vianello can use all of his experience to break down the Southpaw stepping multiple levels.
MY PICKS: Dave Allen to Win Between 5-8 @ 6.00 William Hill (1 Unit)
Junaid Boston to Win By KO/TKO @ 6.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Jaron Ennis to Win Between 5-8 @ 2.75 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Guido Vianello to Win by KO/TKO @ 4.33 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Boxing 2025: 21-59, - 33.67 Units (101 Units Staked, - 33.34% Yield)
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