Dave Allen Gives Up Favorite Cheat Meal Before Epic Showdown with Russian Bear-Wrestling KO Artist

DAVE ALLEN could become a British boxing cult hero and break into the mainstream by toppling a Russian ‘Bond villain’ who wrestles bears.

In 2017, the Doncaster lad weighed in for a heavyweight clash on a undercard with a pair of XXL socks stuffed down his pants and a huge grin across his handsome face.

Dave Allen is set to fight giant Dagestan fighter Arslanbek Makhmudov Makhmudov has wrestled with BEARS on camera

The clip went viral, especially among the gay community, getting 16 million views and earning him countless ­proposals in his social media inboxes.

In the ring, he earned total respect from hardcore fans who watched through their fingers as he funded a gambling addiction with brave defeats to prime versions of ­Dillian Whyte, Luis Ortiz, Olympic gold winner Tony Yoka and David Price.

Online followers also loved Allen’s relationship with nan Betty, which he shared in touching videos and photos.

We worried about his life going off the rails again when she passed away in 2022. But in a beautiful stroke of fate, fathered his first child shortly after and named her Betty.

If you are a British boxing fan of a certain age, you will have watched the White Rhino’s career rollercoaster from exploited punchbag, to shock LGBT icon, to early retirement, to doting dad and budding property tycoon.

The honesty and humour he has always shared has made us cheer and fear — in equal measure — for Allen, who speaks openly about his former fighter father being tough on him.

But following a sensational knockout rematch win over Essex fighter Johnny Fisher in May, he is now at the peak of his pulling power.

Saturday night’s homecoming headline slot in Sheffield — against terrifying 6ft 6in Arslanbek Makhmudov of Dagestan — will provide a life-changing purse.

And a victory could take him closer to his very modest dream — for a man with his record and profile — of winning the often-overlooked British title.

He has the perfect dance partner in the grizzly-grappling knockout artist, 36, who even has a trademark tic of twisting his neck like a 007 foe.

And Allen insists he has ditched his infamous ice-cream sandwiches to be in the best shape of his career.

So much so that he apologised for the first photos from the underwear modelling contract he unveiled, coming complete with paunch as the snaps were taken before he committed totally to this 34th professional training camp.

Despite being a hard and witty Yorkshireman — who has done hundreds of sparring rounds with the likes of , and — Allen has never trash-talked or bad-mouthed an opponent.

He has built a loyal and invested fanbase by being brutally open and uncensored with his back story and struggles, while being humble and self-deprecating about his recent successes.

Even after the original 2024 draw with Fisher, he begged his 26-year-old pal and sparring partner not to take the rerun and to prolong his potential and profile with a different route.

And he seemed genuinely gutted to inflict such a thorough pasting upon him when he ignored the advice.

As a man and a fighter, Allen is a throwback. As a modern boxer, though, he has harnessed social media and YouTube to become a star.

The mismatched and utterly predictable defeats were horrible to watch but — combined with Allen’s unshakably authentic personality — they have made his underdog story one we are all ­desperate to see finish with a ­gloriously happy ending.