DAVE ALLEN’S fight with Christopher Lovejoy is in doubt after contract issues with Don King emerged ahead of the Dereck Chisora vs Oleksandr Usyk undercard clash.
Eddie Hearn revealed he was up until 4am trying to find a solution after receiving a call from fuming American promoter Don King, who suggested he has Lovejoy, 36, under contract.
Hearn explained Lovejoy was asked if he was signed to any promotional organisation – which he denied – and was then flown over and signed a deal to fight Allen, 28, on the Sky Sports Box Office undercard.
Speaking on Matchroom’s YouTube channel, Hearn said: “We had a late night last night. I had a note from Mr Don King last night who said ‘I have Mr Lovejoy under contract’.
“He was not happy at all, he was fuming. But obviously we respect that position so I spoke to Don last night, I was grafting away. Four o’clock in the morning was the last phone call and we are trying to find a solution.
“He’ll get paid from Mr Lovejoy. He said Mr Lovejoy was meant to be fighting Trevor Bryan later in the year, he didn’t have a date for that, he doesn’t have any TV.
“So I’ve come out and I’ve said ‘I will give Trevor Bryan a fight in December on Matchroom Boxing USA’ – so we are trying everything.
“But at the moment he’s not happy and he doesn’t want Mr Lovejoy to fight but we are trying to resolve it with 48 hours to go.”
Allen and Lovejoy were scheduled to get it on in the build-up to Allen’s fellow Brit Dereck Chisora’s heavyweight fight against former unified cruiserweight champ Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Arena on Saturday.
Hearn said he won’t ‘give up’ in attempts to win over ‘long in the tooth’ King to get the fight on, but will look at a number of last-minute British replacements to give Allen a chance to box.
Matchroom chief Hearn made a personal plea with legendary American promoter King.
He added: “So Don King, legend of the game, hall of fame promoter. You’re going to make your money, we are going to give your American star Trevor Bryan a fight.
“And we can all go home smiling. That’s on you big man. So we will see.”
Hearn confirmed the WBA are happy for the fight to go ahead.
Allen – known as ‘The White Rhino’ – has an 18-5-2 record and last fought in February when he KO’d compatriot Dorian Darch.
Allen’s most notable win came in 2019 when he delivered a stunning third-round KO over former world champ Lucas Browne.
But his career hit a stumbling block with defeat to Liverpudlian David Price in July later that year.
American opponent Lovejoy boast an unbeaten 18-0 record with an incredible 100 per cent KO rate.
However, the calibre of opponent in his previous contests is way below Allen’s standard, with Lovejoy largely fighting out of Tijuana, Mexico.
