Who We Are: Columbia County Pro boxer wins debut

After years of preparation, St. Helens boxer Haidon Allen has won his professional debut, beating Robert Jimenez by unanimous decision.

Competing in the Arena Wars Fighting Series, Allen got in the ring at Campy Withycombe, located at 15300 SE Industrial Way, Happy Valley, Oregon, on April 20. Allen secured victory by unanimous decision after four three-minute rounds.

The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief caught up with Allen after his big win. Since the fight, Allen said he’s been taking some time to recover, spending time “eating good” and helping his mom with the garden.

Speaking on the fight, Allen reflected on what the win means to him as he begins his professional journey.

“When they raised my hand, I saw my family, all my friends, and supporters, they all jumped up, and I couldn’t help but smile,” Allen said. I was happy because this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I didn’t know how it was going to be.”

Allen said it was nerve-wracking coming into the arena, seeing all the people who were there for the fight. Allen walked out to Dragon Ball Z music, a tribute to Allen’s love for anime, which is one of his inspirations.

The fight

The bout started with Allen and Jimenez touching gloves and wishing each other luck. Then the bell rang. Allen said he stuck to the game plan set by his coach Victor Morales.

“I stayed in the zone. The whole time, in my mind, I was present thinking of the game plan,” Allen said. “I started reading his punches, and I started off with my jab, right off the bat. Boom, boom. I was conscious the whole time, and I was being very methodical, just like fast-paced chess.”

Allen said he wanted to play it safe out of the gate. Jimenez landed a punch on him in the first round, and Allen felt the weight of the occasion hit him.

“He hit me once in the first round, and I got hit a total of four or five times in the whole fight, but the first round was his best, because he landed his best shot,” Allen said. “Once I felt that, I realized I don’t want to get hit again. So that’s when I started going into my elusive state, and just started moving.”

Allen said he started to take control in the first round when he realized that Jimenez’s range wasn’t very long. Holding Jimenez at a distance, Allen was bobbing and weaving, using his jab to counter and test Jimenez.

After the first round, Allen went to his corner. Morales told him that Jimenez would come out strong to try and make up the ground because he was behind after the first round.

“Coach Victor told me what was going to happen. ‘In the second round [Jimenez] is going to come out trying to catch up, because he feels like he’s losing already, and he’s going to open up,’” Allen said. “He started to open up square. And that’s when I started to see the punches, I’m going to wait just like coach said. I saw him open up, and right when he opened up, I caught him with the two.”

Allen caught Jimenez with a hook that had him “stumbling.” Instead of going for the KO, Allen “played it safe,” trying to win at all costs and not leave himself open to a big shot.

Through the final two rounds, Allen continued to play it safe while pressing his advantage. Allen said by the fourth round he finally felt comfortable, and it gave himself some space to smile.

Whats Next?

“This is my first time as a pro, so I just wanted everything to go right. Yeah, it didn’t go as I envisioned it, because I wanted to get a KO, but you can’t predict what’s going to happen,” Allen said. “I was just happy that my time has finally come, and I’m ready for the next one.”

Allen said the experience of having his first fight under his belt will give him the confidence and poise to go for the knockout punch next time. With this fight in the books, Allen is 1-0 as a pro, and in the “feather weight” division, is ranked #155 in United States and 1,170 globally, per BoxRec.com.

“It feels good, but I’m just taking my first step into the pros. This is just chapter one,” Allen said. “I’m still hungry. Nothings changed. I want to keep working, keeping progressing to my goals and my dreams.”

So what’s next for Haidon Allen?

“I just talked to my coach. He said things are going great. My debut was fantastic, he already got me a fight for June 29,” Allen said. “I’m only going to go against better fighters from here on out.”