Lennox Allen Climbs the Next Step

November 19, 11:00 PM, By Gabriel Montoya, MAX Boxing

While Manny Pacquiao was beating the living daylights out of Antonio Margarito for a vacant belt representing his eighth title in as many weight classes, across the country at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York, Guyana-born Lennox Allen, 13-0-1 (8), was in the fight of his life against local favorite Nick Brinson, 7-1-1 (5), for the New York State super middleweight title. It was by all accounts a barnburner that saw Allen hit the deck for the first time and learn that most important certain something about himself: he can get up and come back to win.

Allen is a soft-spoken fighter who carries himself with a quiet dignity. He's not one to brag or make predictions. He fights the fights and his promoter, Boxing360, takes care of the rest. And that is just how he likes it.

Coming into the fight, Allen knew nothing about Brinson. But at the same time, Allen says that tapes of fighters or information is only a small picture. What matters is what happens once that bell rings; what he sees in front of him.

"I had not seen him fight before or anything," said Allen. "It doesn't matter to me whether I see fights or not. To me, boxing is about making adjustments in the ring. You see somebody fights this way, next fight, something different. You can get an idea of what you are getting into; if he is a boxer or a good fighter. This kid was a good fighter. It's about adjustments." This fight was all about adjustments. Brinson and Allen basically took a long look at each other in the first round. But in the second, reality struck the southpaw Allen with a right hand and down he went for the first time in his career, caught off-guard but not as badly hurt as Brinson thought.

"I've been dropped in the gym but not in a fight," Allen said. "[The punch] just came out of nowhere. He caught me with the right hand and I found myself on the floor. I wasn't hurt. I was like on the floor, seeing the ref to count to eight to get up and I was OK after that."

It was there on the floor that Allen began to make a mental adjustment. Normally more of a boxer, it was time for him to change his colors and go to war.

"I was like 'Damn.' I was on the floor thinking I have to turn this thing around quickly now," admitted Allen. "[Brinson] seemed to be thinking he could stop me if he kept throwing so I was like, 'OK, I'm going to weather the storm and get my jab back and turn the whole fight around.'"

But thinking it and doing it are two different things. Allen got up, only to field a full-on siege by Brinson, who threw punch after punch, hoping to get Allen out of there.

"When I got back up, I was fine. I was OK. I wasn't hurt," explained Allen. "He swarmed me. He came out charging like he was going to stop me. It was an experience."

From then on, Allen dug in and made a fight of things. His reasoning being, if Brinson was so aggressive and used to going forward, the way to negate that was simple: back him up and see what happens.

"I figured, 'I'm in a fight now,' so I got more aggressive," Allen explained to me. "I figured I have to step the pace up now, so I started pressing forward and the kid couldn't fight going backward. So I started pushing him backward. When I did that, he didn't know what to do."

This seemed to work as Allen got back into the fight using his 6'1" frame and his southpaw jab to go with that long lead left. Then fate thought it'd just make things a little harder for Allen. In the fifth, though the ref didn't rule it as such, Allen was headbutted and a cut that required eight stitches opened up over his right eyebrow.

Adversity always reveals who you really are and, in Allen's case, what it revealed is a fighter who is more concerned with winning that worrying about a cut.

"At the point in time, it wasn't about a cut," said Allen. "It was about getting my man out. [The cut was] no problem at all. Not even once. All that mattered was at the end of the fight, my hand going up. It was the main thing at the time."

Scenario: You are in a fight with a local favorite. He has dropped you and a headbutt that he used to open a giant cut on your head has not been ruled by the ref as such, so now if the fight goes to the cards, you might be in trouble, even with momentum swinging your way. How do you handle it? In Allen's case, you believe in yourself and your work.

"I figured even if it went to cards, I would win even though I got dropped in the second round because after the second round, I took control of the fight," said Allen. "Even if the second round was a 10-8 round, I figured I'd win the fight on the scorecards."

Allen went to work in the fifth and sixth and pressed forward with his attack. Brinson appeared to weaken under the strain of this man, who did not seem to care about any problems heading his way.

"After the sixth round, I said, 'You know what? It's just a matter of time before I get him out of here.' He started going backward," explained Allen. "So keep pushing him to go backward and eventually, he gave way."

In the seventh, near round's end, Allen hit pay dirt and sent Brinson into the ropes, helpless under Allen's onslaught.

"I double jab on the left hand and then, he backed up to the ropes and I started punching," said Allen. "Then he was out cold on the ropes and the ref waved it off. I came in thinking I needed a knockout here tonight and I got it."

The time was 2:59 of the seventh round. The victory was right on time for a fighter who had been waiting for his career to get back on track after a few months of inactivity.

Now with a New York title, Allen hopes to move on to bigger and better things. The cut will hold him out of action for 60 days, at which time he can resume training. He had a scheduled "ShoBox" appearance but with the injury, he will have to wait until next year.

"I need two more fights or whatever," said Allen of his development. "Then I can fight the top 20 guys. I feel good at the weight."

Allen, who began as a junior middleweight, has now grown into the super middleweight division, where a plethora of tough fighters reside. Still, those fights are a long way off for him. Right now, he is still a developing fighter looking to find out more about himself in the ring.

"It's a learning experience for a fighter," said Allen of his tough fight with Brinson. "You have to go through these things but it didn't faze me once."

So does he feel like a champion with his New York State belt? For Allen, ever humble, it's all part of becoming a world champion and the fighter he dreams of being.

"Yeah, kind of," he laughed. "It's the next step. I don't want it to get to me. It's just the next step to me; just another fight. It's like a step. You win and you climb each rung until you reach the top. So this is the next step for me."