If you’re a combat sports fan from the United Kingdom, you almost certainly know who Johnny Fisher is already. But this week, the big-punching British heavyweight has the chance to introduce himself to an even bigger audience in his Zuffa Boxing debut. “So, I'm Johnny Fisher. I'm known as ‘The Romford Bull,’ born and raised in Romford. My dad's Big John, a big personality over here in the UK, as well,” he began. “But yeah, we just pride ourselves on being real people, being authentic, and what you see is what you get. We'll always try to be honest and be truthful with you. And part of being truthful with yourself is to give 110 percent every time you train, and every time you fight.
“I'm known for my aggressive style, and my best performances have been when I'm aggressive and going for the knockout. I might not be an Oleksandr Usyk or an Agit Kabayel, or a top-level heavyweight right now. But one thing you're guaranteed when you come to watch me fight is entertainment, and it's a privilege and an honor to reach out to this new market of American supporters and American fans. We love going over there when we can, and America is a great place. You don't have to leave that great country. There's so many different biomes and places to explore, and yeah, whether you're on the East Coast, West Coast, or in the middle, we love America. Up the ‘American Bosh Soldiers!’ Bosh!”
No bells and whistles. No outlandish statements. Instead, Fisher is a down-to-earth, straight-talking Englishman who just happens to have a penchant for knocking people out. The hard-hitting heavyweight has finished 12 of his 14 career wins by knockout, and his “live by the sword, die by the sword” approach also led to his one career defeat, in a rematch with fellow Englishman Dave Allen. Since that defeat, Fisher re-evaluated his situation and switched trainers to work with the respected Tony Sims, and after his bounce-back knockout win over Ivan Balaz last December, an opportunity presented itself that was too good for “The Romford Bull” to turn down.
“I was previously with Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn,” Fisher explained. “I was meant to fight for a British title. That fell through because of politics between different promoters, and then I just took a little bit of a holiday, a vacation, when that fight didn't come off, and my contract was running out with Matchroom; it began to run out. We had a negotiation period. We could talk to other guys, and Zuffa Boxing came in with this amazing offer to fight – not only financially a fantastic offer, but to fight on Sky Sports Boxing as well. I've obviously been to Vegas a few times and seen how the UFC world and that side of the combat sports universe works. And now I'm part of it. It's great.”
Being part of Zuffa Boxing has seen a change of environment for Fisher, who is now benefiting from the overall TKO ecosystem, with all of the expertise previously only available to UFC athletes now at the fingertips of Fisher and his fellow Zuffa Boxing athletes. “It's been unbelievable,” he said. “I mean, everything's done for you. I've had about five or six different contacts messaging me, trying to sort this out for me, do this. I've had food offered to me. I've had physiotherapy offered to me. It's just amazing. Everything's run like a well-oiled machine, and it puts you in a good headspace for Fight Week, you know? And it's the same for every fighter, all the way down the card. So, I’m very, very excited to be here. I've got some free gear out of it as well, some merch. So yeah, got some nice sliders which are very comfy, which is great!”
Fisher and his father, known to one and all as “Big John,” have become cult figures in the UK, with their love for Chinese food a feature of some of their social media output over the years. Big John’s ability to fire off a monster Chinese meal order is something to behold, and it was something UFC CEO Dana White got to experience for himself when he joined the pair for a Chinese meal earlier this year.
Fisher was delighted to be able to make that moment happen, as he explained. “So yeah, obviously Dana's a busy man, right? And we were waiting a little bit of time for him,” he said. “We didn't really want to pester him or bother him because he's a busy guy. He’s probably got more important things to do than eat Chinese with me and my fat dad. But here we are, and he really warmed to it, and he enjoyed it. I saw him polishing off a big box of sweet and sour chicken all to himself, or kung pao chicken; he really enjoyed that. We have a really nice restaurant over here called the Blue Orchid in Romford, in our hometown. My mum and dad have been going there since they was 16-17 years old. It's been open since 1963, and hopefully, when Dana comes over here, whether it's this time or next time, we'll get him to come and sample the Chinese food for himself.”
Fisher and his father virtually come as a package deal. Throughout Fisher’s career, he’s had Big John by his side, supporting him through every stage in his career. It’s part of what makes Fisher who he is, and hearing him talk about the importance of family gives you a sense of his grounding as a person, as well as an athlete. As far as Fisher is concerned, this isn’t a journey he’s taking alone. He’s bringing his family, friends and his growing community of fans along for the ride, too.
“For me, family is the most important thing, and the friend network around you, as well – your core support base,” he explained. “This is what it's all really about for me. We do ticket collections in the build-up to fights as well, and it just hits home to you how much of my journey is about a community thing as well. And yeah, it starts in Romford, but that community has grown across the United Kingdom, across Australia. We've got a lot of fans in America starting to build up now as well. But yeah, family is at the center of everything we do. It's bigger than boxing. It's bigger than any financial gain you can make. It's bigger than any other aspect of life. If you've got your family, everything else falls in around that.”
A former student rugby player at Exeter University, Fisher discovered his love for boxing while at university, and eventually took up the sport full-time. But he still talks in glowing terms about his time spent at the establishment, in the South West of England. “Very good memories back at Exeter University, and that's actually where my passion for boxing was reignited,” he recalled. “And I think that's another good thing to say about college and university: Don't go there just for your degree or the qualifications you're going to get, but they can set you on a different journey of life, and you can meet some great people that can bring the best out of you.”
With his toughness built on the rugby field, and a grounding in strength and conditioning developed in the university’s gym, Fisher built himself up, and once he sharpened his boxing tools, he was ready to head out into the world of pro boxing. Now, 15 fights later, Fisher has joined the Zuffa Boxing revolution, and while he’s determined to put on a show every time he steps through the ropes, he does so without any delusions of grandeur about where he stands in the heavyweight pecking order as he gets set to face Belgium’s Michael Pirotton in Saturday night’s main event in London.
“So, Michael Pirotton, he's 12-2, a Belgian guy, never been stopped. So that will be the challenge this weekend,” he said. “He's fought a couple of times in the last few months, so he's going to be up for it, and this is his big opportunity, as well. We talk about this being my opportunity, but he's coming to spoil the party. I'm obviously at a certain level in the heavyweight game – I make no bones about that. I'm honest about where I am, but I have got potential to mix it with some of the top guys. I mean, I was at one point one or two fights off being in with those top guys. I'm only 27 years old. That's all part of this journey and this process of being a combat athlete. And I think the Americans appreciate that as well. They understand that.
“I look at the UFC, looking at guys who take risks and they come back from losses, and it actually makes them better fighters. In this country, I think we suffer from a stigma too much of: if you lose, that's the end of the road. No, that's the start of the road, and it's led me to this point now with a new trainer in Tony Sims, who's a world-class trainer, and a world-class professional outfit in Zuffa Boxing. So, I’m very excited to be part of this.”
With a new trainer pushing him in the gym, and a new promotional company putting him on the biggest platform of his career, on both sides of the Atlantic, Fisher is ready to step up and entertain the world with his own brand of heavyweight boxing. And while he’ll be watched by fans across the planet, he’ll be fighting close to home, at the Copper Box Arena in Stratford, London. “I haven't boxed in London or England for over a year now,” he said. “My last fight was in Monte Carlo in Monaco. So yeah, it's great to be back on familiar ground. Although there's a new aspect of it with a new promoter and new things all [through] this fight week, the outcome's still going to be the same: fighting at the Copper Box in front of my home fans. Hopefully we can build on this from here because it's important to build momentum, and this is the first step. If I put in a good performance, it keeps growing from here. It's very exciting.”
