Undefeated heavyweight Johnny ‘The Romford Bull’ Fisher 12-0 (11) is on the lookout for bigger challenges after walking through Alen ‘The Savage’ Babic 12-2 (11) in just 36 seconds at the Copper Box Arena in London, England on Saturday night.
In the first real exchange of the fight, Londoner Fisher, 25, landed a pair of clubbing right hands that sent Babic toppling to the canvas in the middle of the ring.
For a moment it looked like Babic would be alright. The 33-year-old Croatian was quickly to his feet but just as referee Mark Bates moved forward to examine him, his legs betrayed him with an involuntary stutter-step.
Referee Bates wisely stopped the contest at the 0:35 mark of the opening round.
“This is one of the most special moments of my life and my career so far,” Fisher said in the ring after his latest win.
“I want to thank every single one of you, I was expecting a ten-round war tonight, I prepared my mind for a horrible, gruelling thing.
“I prepared like I had never prepared before. I ate better, I slept better and that is the result you get and I think that shows the level I can get to.
“I’ll keep going and dealt with it [training camp] better than I have before. I’ve sparred Filip Hrgovic and really matured over the last six months, I can go as far as I want.
“I’ve got total respect for Alen Babic, he’s a friend but his team were saying they were going to drag me deep.
“They said Mark [Tibbs] (Fisher’s trainer) would have to pull me out. I tell you what, I’m from Romford and I won’t be pulled out by anyone.
“You have to drag me off the canvas and put me in an ambulance if you want to get through me. I have the heart of a warrior.”
For Babic it was his second first-round loss after previously coming up short in his bid for the WBC bridgerweight title Poland’s Lukasz Rozanski 15-1 (14) in April last year.
Fisher’s promoter Eddie Hearn was quick to talk up his boxer’s future, even boasting that he could best the domestic duo of Frazer Clarke 9-0-1 (6) and Fabio Wardley 17-0-1 (16), who battled to an epic draw in their British and Commonwealth title fight this past March.
“This ain’t a gimmick, you’re looking at a world-class heavyweight prospect and talking about a guy with two amateur fights,” the Matchroom Boxing chief said.
“I’d back him against anyone at British title level and after Frazer Clarke vs Fabio Wardley, I called him to say he’d beat them both. Get excited, because he’s the real deal.”
Fisher is looking to take the show on the road in his next outing, with Las Vegas and Australia the preferred destinations for his Romford faithful.
“I think the Romford Army would have a lot more fun in England, in Vegas, in these sort of places,” Fisher said.
“I’d love to stay here but we’re all professional boxers, we’ve all got to earn our money, we’ve all got to make a living. It’s very hard for a professional sportsman in boxing to earn money so if you get an opportunity over there and it’s a big fight you can’t say no.
“But for me now, I’m very grateful for the living I can earn here in England, places in Europe and I’d love to fight in Australia at one point because we’ve got a big fanbase over there. Saudi Arabia isn’t the pull for me right now, but who knows in the future.”
Matchroom Boxing are expected to promote a homecoming fight for recently crowned IBF junior welterweight champion Liam ‘The Prodigy’ Paro 25-0 (15) in his home country of Australia in the last quarter of the year. An international heavyweight bout featuring Fisher would be a welcome addition to the card.
