Johnny Fisher Defeats Michael Pirotton at the Copper Box
I said in my pre-fight piece that Johnny Fisher was an accident waiting to happen, and despite Fisher defeating the Belgian heavyweight Michael Pirotton, that harsh viewpoint has only been enhanced.
Fisher (15-1) laboured through ten largely forgettable rounds at the Copper Box Arena in London to outpoint the extremely limited Pirotton (12-3) by a majority decision. Scores of 95-95, 98-92 and 96-95 saw Fisher home. It’s fair to say that all the early excitement surrounding the Romford heavyweight hopeful has now gone. The 27-year-old has already reached his ceiling, and any decent heavyweight will beat him.
It was his first appearance under the Zuffa banner. Fisher was paid handsomely to tempt him away from Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. It doesn’t look like money well spent. The question is will Dana White dig that deep into his pockets again?
Fisher started fast. But Pirotton wasn’t going anywhere. The British fighter put far too much into the early rounds, and Fisher was fighting exhaustion in the second half of the contest. Pirotton, who sits outside of the world’s top 100 heavyweights, couldn’t capitalise on Fisher, who looked ready to be taking out by any decent heavyweight. Fisher was extremely fortunate that the matchmakers had done their job in picking the right opponent.
Pirotton seemingly couldn’t turn his punches over. They looked like arm punches, and Fisher would have been grateful for that. As the gas tank emptied down the stretch, I thought Fisher could still just fall apart, despite the limitations of the fighter in front of him. The Belgian import had a decent 9th round, and if he had carried a little more power, he would likely have stopped a fast-fading Fisher.
Fisher rallied a little in the 10th, and that might have saved his night. Fisher needed oxygen as he left the ring, and hopefully, it was purely a precautionary measure after going deep into his survival instincts. Fisher showed immense heart in seeing the fight out. But he faces an uncertain future. It might be a tad premature, but Fisher might need to have a serious think about his fighting future and consider retirement.
Photo Credit: Zuffa Boxing
