David Allen retires from boxing as British fighter admits he ‘doesn’t want to get punched in the face any more’

Heavyweight boxer David Allen has announced his retirement from the sport.

Nicknamed the ‘White Rhino’, the 28-year-old announced on social media over the weekend that he would be hanging up his gloves after 25 professional fights.

The news certainly came as a surprise to boxing fans as he was due to appear on the Connor Benn undercard this weekend, however he’s called time early as he wants a ‘quiet life with a wife and some kids, healthy and happy getting nice and fat’, he revealed on his Instagram.

Allen made his professional boxing debut back in 2012 and has fought some of the heavyweight division’s biggest names during this time including Luiz Ortiz and Dillian Whyte. 

He ends his career with an impressive 18 wins, two draws and just five defeats. Arguably his best win was in April 2019, where he defeated Lucas Browne with a vicious body shot when he headlined at the O2 Arena. 

In his retirement announcement post on Instagram, the Doncaster-born fighter was honest and admitted that he ‘doesn’t want to get punched in the face anymore’. With his future in mind no-one can blame him for wanting to look after himself. 

‘Boxing has given me a life I could never have dreamed of, I had never been out of Doncaster but for school trips until I started boxing and it’s taken me round the world from New York City to working men’s clubs all around the UK,’ Allen added in his post.

‘On top of that and more importantly I have made the greatest friends, some of them being my childhood heroes, the list would be far too long, but I hope everyone knows who they are and know they are appreciated.’

Now that the ‘Doncaster De la Hoya’ has retired, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take up a role in punditry. He’s appeared a few times as a pundit on Sky Sports previously and seemed a natural with his extensive boxing knowledge and witty-likeable character. 

So, we may well see Allen back on our screens in the near future, but perhaps on the other side of the ring.

By Liam Davies