Thomas Carty's Controversial No-Contest: Manager's Outrage
Thomas Carty’s manager has launched a furious attack on David Allen and the officials after the Irish heavyweight’s dramatic tumble through the ropes turned their Croke Park clash into a no-contest.
What should have been the biggest night of Carty’s career, on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s farewell at the home of Irish sport, instead ended in confusion, anger and accusation.
‘Blatant’ foul and a call for a DQ
The controversy exploded late in the first round. Carty, boxing confidently, snapped out a stiff jab that instantly marked up Allen’s face. Moments later, he was sent sprawling through the ropes, clutching the back of his head after what his team insist were two rapid-fire fouls.
For manager Mike Ofo, there is no grey area.
“What happened was plain for all to see,” he told Sky Sports. “Allen blatantly fouling him twice in quick succession in response to Thomas’ punishing jab that immediately marked up Allen’s face.
“The second, illegal rabbit punch to the back of Thomas’ head knocked him clean through the ropes and there is only one outcome under the rules of boxing in those circumstances – a DQ loss for Allen.”
Instead, with Carty unable to continue, the fight was ruled a no-contest.
Ofo’s frustration runs far deeper than a technical ruling. This was supposed to be a coronation: a 30-year-old Dublin heavyweight stepping into a historic event in front of a huge Croke Park crowd, only to see it ripped away before it had begun.
“I am very disappointed about what happened on Saturday night at Croke Park and the untimely halt to what should have been the crowning achievement of Thomas’ career so far,” he said. Carty, he added, had been “pumped” for the occasion and “gutted by the bizarre turn of events.”
Allen’s defence: ‘I’m not aiming for the back of anyone’s head’
Allen, speaking on his YouTube channel, offered a very different reading of the key exchange.
He described closing the distance, landing “a left hook to the body” and then clipping Carty high as the Irishman fired back.
“I think, then he threw a combination, knocked my head back with an uppercut,” Allen said. “But then he grabbed me frantically. I’m not aiming for the back of anyone’s head ever, but I am aiming about here [the ear].
“It wasn’t a big shot; I tried to clip him round the ear as I always do, and he’s turned his head into it. It’s gone round the back of the head.
“From there on, I don’t know. It’s not for me to say what’s happened. He’s a good guy, I do like him.
“I’ve caught him behind the head, not on purpose; he’s turned into, and he’s gone through the ropes.
“At the time, I said to the referee, ‘Are you not going to count?’ If that was in the middle of the ring, I’d have won by stoppage.”
Allen’s argument is simple: accidental contact, opponent turning into the punch, and a situation that, in his view, could easily have produced a legitimate stoppage had Carty fallen differently.
‘Gaslighting’ and a demand for justice
Ofo is having none of it.
“I see he is already busy trying to set a narrative but that is gaslighting,” he said, dismissing Allen’s explanation outright. In his view, this was a clear foul, not a freak accident, and one that robbed Carty of a likely late stoppage.
“Thomas and the team were all confident that he would have stopped Allen in the later rounds, particularly in light of the terrible shape Allen turned up in,” Ofo added, before twisting the knife with a pointed jibe at the Englishman’s conditioning. “Frankly, he should change his nickname from ‘The White Rhino’ to ‘The White Hippo.’”
The bad blood is obvious, but beneath the anger sits a more formal demand. Carty’s camp want the Boxing Union of Ireland to revisit the referee’s call and upgrade the no-contest to a disqualification loss for Allen.
“Once the BUI have reconsidered the referee’s decision and done the right thing, we will happily give Allen a rematch and they can settle it once and for all – hopefully inside the ring this time!” Ofo said.
Cruel luck and the road back
For Carty, the ending felt horribly familiar. His only professional defeat so far came last year after a freak knee injury, another night where misfortune cut short his work.
This time, the stakes and the stage were far bigger. A massive Irish crowd. Katie Taylor’s farewell. A platform built for a statement win and a surge into the next tier of the heavyweight scene.
Instead, he left with no result on his record and another bitter chapter in a career that keeps finding strange ways to stall.
The plan now is clear: push for the ruling to be overturned, then chase the rematch. Carty, 30, still targets what would be his 12th professional victory, and his team believe it will come at Allen’s expense when – or if – they run it back.
Allen, for now, has declined to respond to Ofo’s latest comments.
The punch has been thrown, the fall has been replayed, and the arguments are only hardening. The question is whether the board, and then the ring, will be allowed to deliver the final verdict.
