Arslanbek Makhmudov outpoints Dave Allen in Sheffield

Arslanbek Makhmudov walked into Sheffield Arena with purpose and left with a clear unanimous decision over Dave Allen, banked on steady pressure, a thudding jab–right hand, and enough clinch management to survive the rough patches. After ten often physical rounds, the judges returned 115-111, 116-110 and 117-109, all for Makhmudov. The margin survived two separate point deductions against the Russian-Canadian for persistent holding, a sign of how consistently he controlled the geography of the fight even when the referee intervened.

The opening session set the tone. Makhmudov claimed the centre ring, pumped the jab and dropped the right hand over the top, forcing Allen to retreat to the ropes more often than he’d prefer. Allen’s plan—slip inside, work the body and make the bigger man reset—produced flashes of success, but the visitor’s reach and insistence on stepping in behind straight shots blunted those raids. When Allen did get close, Makhmudov tied up, leaning his weight and making the breaks as slow as the referee would allow; it wasn’t pretty, but it was effective enough to bank rounds.

Allen rallied in spots that had the Yorkshire crowd roaring. The third was his first meaningful foothold as he backed Makhmudov up and landed a cuffing hook that drew a reaction, and in the fifth, he snapped in a clean uppercut that briefly straightened the taller man. The ninth provided his liveliest stretch: a spirited burst to head and body that forced Makhmudov to clinch and reset under a swell of noise. Each of those moments, however, came with a bill attached—Makhmudov answered with disciplined 1-2s and a judicious grapple when the temperature rose, enough to cool the fight back into his preferred rhythm.

Refereeing choices became part of the story. After warnings through the middle frames, a point finally came off Makhmudov for holding in the seventh, and again in the twelfth as the pattern resurfaced down the stretch. Those deductions kept the cards honest, but they didn’t flip the narrative. Makhmudov’s long offence—jab, right, occasional hook—wasn’t varied, yet it didn’t have to be; the straight lines arrived on time, and his size at the clinch made Allen work twice for every clean look he earned.

By the final bell, Allen had the look of a man who had solved parts of the puzzle without ever laying hands on the whole thing. His chin held, his engine never quit, and he landed enough singular shots to remind Makhmudov he couldn’t coast. But the accumulated work came from the visitor, who kept the exchanges framed at arm’s length and banked the safe minutes. For Allen, it’s a setback rather than a collapse—proof he can still live with heavy-handed opposition, but also a reminder that winning those nights requires more phases won in the ring centre and fewer resets after a clinch. For Makhmudov, the decision win and the WBA Intercontinental strap should keep him in the conversation for significant assignments in 2026, a credible threat for anyone who can’t match his size or tolerate his tempo.

There were no knockdowns, only the steady pressure of a big man using basic tools well and a proud local trying to manufacture momentum in pockets. On another night, with fewer clinches or a quicker separation, perhaps Allen’s uppercuts and bursts become chapters rather than footnotes. Tonight, Makhmudov’s method won the argument on all three cards, deductions and all, and he left Sheffield with the result to prove it.