Johnny Fisher gets his first proper look at life under a new banner on 26 September, when the Romford heavyweight headlines Zuffa Boxing 11 against Belgium’s Michael Pirotton at London’s Copper Box Arena. It is a venue that has already written two very different chapters of Fisher’s career, and he will be hoping this one reads more like the first.
A golden ticket at the Copper Bosh
Fisher, known to his fanbase as “The Romford Bull,” calls the Copper Box “the Copper Bosh,” and the arena has form for him. He stopped Alen Babic there in a wild slugfest, then suffered the only loss of his professional career in the building too, halted in the fifth round by Dave Allen in their rematch after Fisher had edged a contentious decision in their first meeting. Now 14-1 with 12 knockouts, he returns to the same ring for a fight he has described as “a golden ticket,” his first assignment since signing with Zuffa Boxing, the fast-growing promotion backed by Dana White and TKO that has already struck a landmark media rights deal with Paramount for 2026. “I can’t wait to be back at the Copper Bosh on September 26 and bring another huge night of boxing to London,” Fisher said of the announcement.
Picking up the pieces after Dave Allen
The knockout loss to Allen prompted the biggest shake-up of Fisher’s career to date. He split from long-time trainer Mark Tibbs and moved to Tony Sims, a switch that was tested immediately when Fisher was hurt early by Ivan Balaz in his first fight under the new coach before recovering to force a stoppage. Nine months on, Sims has been working on sharpening Fisher’s boxing IQ without stripping out the aggression that has always been his calling card. “I’m rolling a bit more, just getting my boxing brain working a little bit more, but I’m not going to lose what I am, which is super aggressive, explosive, come forward, because that’s my power,” Fisher said of the adjustments.
Pirotton’s unbeaten streak against the odds
Pirotton is no showcase opponent. The Belgian arrives at 12-2 with 6 knockouts and a genuine selling point: in fourteen professional fights he has never been put on the canvas. After opening his career with ten straight wins, he dropped back to back decisions against unbeaten opposition in 2025 before responding with two stoppage wins this year, arriving in London on the back of confidence rather than damage limitation. For a fighter like Fisher, built around finishing power, cracking that durability will say plenty about how far his development under Sims has actually come.
Staying grounded amid Zuffa’s bigger plans
Zuffa Boxing has made no secret of the fact that it sees Fisher as a building block for its UK expansion, with up to sixteen events planned globally in 2026 and British heavyweight depth firmly on its radar. Fisher, though, is keeping the focus narrow. “Your next fight is always the most important fight. I’ve got a man in front of me with ambition, who has got a good record and fought only a few days ago,” he said, playing down talk of what victory might open up. Craig Richards against Radivoje Kalajdzic fills the chief support slot, with Lee Cutler versus Louis Greene and Cesar Mateo Tapia against Leo Ruiz rounding out a card that will air live on Sky Sports in the UK and stream on Paramount+ in North America.
What a win actually buys him
Nothing is signed beyond Pirotton, and Fisher has been careful not to get ahead of himself given how the last twelve months have gone. But a clean, dominant win at the Copper Box would go a long way to answering the questions the Allen defeat raised, and would hand Zuffa Boxing a genuine domestic banner name to build its British programme around. Lose again, and the rebuild under Sims starts to look a great deal more urgent. Either way, 26 September should tell us plenty about which version of Johnny Fisher is here to stay.
