Dave Allen Eyes Andy Ruiz Jr for a Career-Ending Farewell Fight

Dave Allen has a number in mind, and it's one. The Doncaster heavyweight says he's chasing at least one more outing before the year is out, but the fight he really wants — the one he'd call the final bout of his career — is a UK meeting with former unified world champion Andy Ruiz Jr. Allen has already fought five times in 2026, so nobody can accuse him of ducking activity.

It hasn't been a smooth year on the marquee stages. Allen dropped a fight to Filip Hrgovic — now the IBF titleholder — when he headlined at Doncaster Rovers' stadium, and his co-main slot on the Katie Taylor bill at Croke Park ended in a no-contest just weeks ago. Neither result cooled his appetite for the big names.

Talks Are Moving

Allen laid out the plan on Instagram, saying he's spoken to Eddie Hearn twice about the Ruiz fight. The first conversation was warm; the second, at a Fight Day 5K over the weekend, left Allen convinced the bout looks likely to land. His terms are simple: he'll box once or twice more this year regardless, but if Ruiz signs, that's the last one.

Ruiz has his own reasons to want it. 'The Destroyer' returned from a two-year layoff at the start of the month and lost to Damian Knyba — the third defeat of a career defined most famously by his 2019 upset of Anthony Joshua. At 37 and signed to Matchroom, a UK debut against a fan-favourite like Allen is a tidy way to chase a rebound win.

The Bigger Picture

Speaking of Joshua: the man Ruiz once shocked has moved into a very different orbit. AJ sits at 29-4 (26 KO) with a sixth-round stoppage of Jake Paul on his ledger, a reminder of how far the heavyweight landscape has drifted since that Madison Square Garden night. Ruiz, meanwhile, is trying to prove there's still gas in the tank against a domestic opponent who fights with heart on his sleeve.

For Allen, the appeal is obvious. A shared Matchroom banner smooths the negotiation, and there's a neat symmetry in a British cult hero closing his book against a former champion carrying his own baggage into the ring. Nothing's inked yet — but if Hearn gets it over the line, Allen gets the send-off he's angling for.