David Allen to take break from boxing - whatever the result in this weekend's British title eliminator

Allen has pledged to take an indefinite break from the sport after competing this weekend after declaring himself beaten down following two intense years.

The Conisbrough heavyweight was originally due to face Lee Carter in Sunderland on Saturday but this week jumped at the chance to face unbeaten prospect Nick Webb at London’s O2 Arena, in what has been sanctioned as a British title eliminator.

Even though victory would edge him closer to his dream of holding the Lonsdale belt, he says he would still be walking away.

“If I win on Saturday I’ll definitely not fight again this year – unless it is for six figures of course,” he joked.

“I’d like to think I will beat Nick Webb then go away, have some time off and come back when I’m fresh.

“If I come back, I want to be in a good position, lose the weight and start afresh.

“As it is right now, I’m going to fight on Saturday and after that I’m definitely not fighting again in 2018.

“I want a bit of time off. Boxing is hard work.

“The Tony Yoka fight was very hard work. It took a lot out of me.”

Following his defeat to Olympic champion Yoka in France last month, Allen has assessed the landscape of heavyweight boxing and feels continuing in the sport right now would not be lucrative enough.

And he is keen to explore other career opportunities, including training his own fighters.

But mostly, he is ready for a rest.

“I’ve had some really hard fights over the last couple of years,” Allen said.

“They’ve taken their toll on me.

“I’d like to think I’m an intelligent kid, not bad looking and there’s so many other things I can do in life other than getting punched around the head for a few quid.

“For the last year and a half it’s been good pay and worth it.

“But where I’m at in my career right now, the money after this one if I got beat wouldn’t be worth me doing it.

“I’m going to explore a couple of different avenues and then come back in a couple of years, or when I’m ready to give it another go.

“But at the minute, it’s not worth it.”

Allen insists opting to fight Webb on Saturday’s pay-per-view card is not simply about the money.

The 26-year-old believes he has the beating of Webb, who is making a step up in class this weekend.

He said: “It’s true I could either have had to pay to fight in Sunderland or I could go to the O2, earn possibly as much money as I’ve ever earned from a fight and on a massive card.

“It was a no-brainer.

“But I’m not just doing it for the money.

“I fancy this. Webb isn’t that great.

“He’s never boxed anyone like me. He’s going to hit me and I’m not going to fall on the floor like his other opponents have.

“It’ll be interesting.”