Not many MMA fighters have made a successful transition from the MMA octagon to the professional boxing ring. One of the most famous MMA fighters who attempted to make the change was Connor McGregor who made the change in order to take on Floyd Mayweather (Jnr). Many considered this fight to be nothing more than a money spinner for both fighters, Mayweather easily getting past McGregor.
In South Africa, some of the MMA fighters who have made the transition from MMA to professional boxing include Hanru Botha, Wade Groth and Boyd Allen. The only one to really have made an impression is Boyd Allen. Groth won the SA Middleweight Title but then appeared to go completely off the boil, losing 3 of next 4 fights on stoppages. Botha only had 2 professional boxing fights, both ending in draws.
But things worked out a lot better for Boyd Allen. After building up an impressive record of 16 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw in the MMA octagon, he decided to try his luck in the professional boxing ring. This was brought about by a lack of fights for him in the MMA code and he made the transition like a duck takes to water. What is interesting is that in the MMA code, Allen fought both Groth and Botha, leaving the ring as the victor on both occasions. Allen had his first professional boxing fight in October of 2018, and it was immediately clear that he was an excellent boxing prospect. Part of his success can be put down to the fact that he has an amateur boxing background.
In only his third professional outing, Allen took on 11 fight veteran John Bopape for the WBA Pan African title. Referee Simon Mokadi was forced to call a halt to the fight in the 11th round and Allen left the ring with the championship belt firmly strapped around his waist. Allen has built up a record of 5 wins and a draw in his 6 fights to date.
One of his wins was against Brandon Thysse who he will face in the final of the “4 @ War” series at Emperors Palace on the 21st of March 2020. The first fight was a closely contested affair, Allen taking it by way of a split points decision. Since that fight Allen has teamed up with trainer Peter Smith and his hard work paid off when he stopped a game Tristan Truter in his last outing. Thysse also showed that he has his career back on track when he stopped Roarke Knapp in his last bout.
This bout promises to be an exciting final to what has been a fantastic series promoted by Rodney Berman from Golden Gloves.
