Johnny Fisher vs. TBA | Sky Sports - 26 September 2026

[Ruthless-RKO]

Announced: Johnny Fisher has signed with Zuffa Boxing.

He headlines Zuffa Boxing 11 on September 26th at the Copper Box Arena, London.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[MasterG]

What's so special with Johnny Fisher?

[mickey1975]

What's so special with Johnny Fisher?

His profile and ability to sell tickets.

[skanksta]

What's so special with Johnny Fisher?

His profile and ability to sell tickets.

Which isn't really what Zuffa want is it..?

[margaret thatcher]

zuffa match guys competitively, i dont know how long johnny can go like that befroe getting unstuck again. on the bright side, zuffa also bring guys back after losses...

[MasterG]

What's so special with Johnny Fisher?

His profile and ability to sell tickets.

He's not going to win titles. He said 6x his purse that hearn could give. So let's say he fights a decent, and I mean a decent opponent his purse is going to be around 50k? Makes no sense at all.

[deadpan]

zuffa match guys competitively, i dont know how long johnny can go like that befroe getting unstuck again. on the bright side, zuffa also bring guys back after losses...

Don't they have to because their stable is so small?

[SeanBrennan]

Him headlining is an indictment of the sport. Zero ability, just branding and shouting bosh. Wobbled in his last fight, barrel scraped.

[Flump]

He was on Talksport earlier, very likeable guy. If he can walk away with some money, then fair play to him. It's up to the public as to whether we want to tune in for it.

[gp.]

zuffa match guys competitively, i dont know how long johnny can go like that befroe getting unstuck again. on the bright side, zuffa also bring guys back after losses...

Competitive matches for Fisher are inevitably going to be against people nobody has ever heard of though.

[Boxerbeetle]

He was on Talksport earlier, very likeable guy. If he can walk away with some money, then fair play to him. It's up to the public as to whether we want to tune in for it.

[THEBUTCH]

In years gone past, the obvious target would be the British title but who would give Fisher any chance against Richard Riakporhe ?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Johnny Fisher Chose Zuffa After Phone Call With Barry Hearn

Johnny Fisher still wasn’t sure which way to turn as he sat down to watch American Gangster after a hard day’s training on Friday.

He had offers from Matchroom, which promoted the popular heavyweight for the entirety of his career, but also a lucrative opportunity with Zuffa Boxing and Dana White.

Loyalty has always meant a lot to Fisher, the history graduate from Romford – the east London area where Barry Hearn founded Matchroom beneath a billiards hall in 1982. So, for 27-year-old Fisher, there was only one man to call for guidance.

“I’m sitting on my settee on Friday night rewatching American Gangster again,” Fisher told The Ring. “And I thought I’d give Barry a ring about what to do. He picked up the phone straight away and we had a good chat. He said, ‘Johnny, you've got to take this offer. You’ve done everything the correct way and we’ve done our job in that sense that you’ve got this offer of a great financial deal, but also a great promotional deal as well.’

“I respect Barry immensely and I’ve been mentored by him a little bit the last two or three years. He’s been helping me out a lot in a financial sense and just giving me good bits of advice. There’s no one better, really, to get advice from. It was good to finally hear his voice as well because I’ve been dealing with Eddie through this process mainly. It’s always good to go to the old man in Barry, who’s been there and done it and seen it all before.”

Barry Hearn, 78, is president of Matchroom. A recent Netflix series about the company shows that he is still very hands-on across all of the company’s sporting endeavors. His son, Eddie, the chairman and managing director of Matchroom Sport, runs its boxing business and was in charge of the packages presented to Fisher regarding his next fight beneath their banner.

Eddie Hearn had been vocal in his criticism of another former Matchroom man, Conor Benn, for what he perceived as poor conduct from the welterweight, who he labeled a dog following a similar switch to Zuffa Boxing. Much of his ire seemed to stem from the fact that Benn had not communicated his decision well enough with Hearn before pulling the trigger.

But, five months on from Benn’s seismic departure, Fisher (14-1, 12 KOs) knew that a seal of approval from Barry Hearn meant there could be no hard feelings.

“To be honest, that was the greatest feeling out of all of it,” Fisher said. “Because you don’t want to go to bed thinking, ‘Have I not communicated well? Have I done it the wrong way?’ I haven’t, but I’ll just always wonder if I have done the best I could? And have I tried to convey my message in the best way?

“All you can do is be true to yourself, but be honest and open with everyone else involved. I’ve got to be true to myself first and foremost, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be honest with the people around you. So yeah, I’ve tried to do it as best I can to be honest with myself, but also to be genuine to everyone else who’s been involved in my career because Matchroom have done a brilliant job with me and I’m forever grateful to them.”

Now Fisher can look forward to September 26 for the first and only fight of his initial deal with Zuffa.

Fisher’s fight against an opponent to be announced will be broadcast live on Sky Sports from London’s Copper Box Arena. He knows a good performance can open the door to a longer partnership with the emerging promotional company.

“It was around March-April time and Eddie had made us some very good offers,” Fisher recalled. “But I was just of the mind that I’m worth a little bit more than that. It’s the principle of knowing what you’re worth. I spoke to Eddie the whole way through and said, ‘Look, I want to just see where the land lies in the context of my worth in the market,’ and then Zuffa came through with a tremendous offer. I would be lying if I didn't say that the financial side of it is a massive part of it. Of course it is. We’re professional boxers and every time we step in the ring, it could be our last time.

“This is a one-fight deal, but that’s what I wanted to start with because I want to see where the land lies after this fight. I’ve got to win this fight – that’s all that matters right now. But the vision that they’ve got for after that is a tremendous one. So that gives me motivation to do well in this fight and to win at the Copper Box in good style. Then the vision that Sky and Zuffa have for not just me, but world boxing in general, is something that I want to be a part of.”

[tony1234]

In years gone past, the obvious target would be the British title but who would give Fisher any chance against Richard Riakporhe ?

He'd be flattened in a round or 2 , Allen showed his limitations

[Eolaithe]

Boxers like Johnny Fisher may not be top-level fighters, but they are well known, popular on social media, sell tickets, and bring viewers to Sky Sports boxing.

Promoters use popular fighters like Fisher to attract fans, then put lesser-known but talented prospects on the undercard.

This is Zuffa Boxing’s audience halo strategy: attention from one popular fighter spreads across the event and helps gain exposure to the other boxers on the card.

I do not think Zuffa Boxing expects Fisher to achieve anything meaningful in boxing. Most probably only consider him on the fringe of the British top-15 rankings, but he still has value because he brings in viewers.

[Coco]

Boxers like Johnny Fisher may not be top-level fighters, but they are well known, popular on social media, sell tickets, and bring viewers to Sky Sports boxing.

Promoters use popular fighters like Fisher to attract fans, then put lesser-known but talented prospects on the undercard.

This is Zuffa Boxing’s audience halo strategy: attention from one popular fighter spreads across the event and helps gain exposure to the other boxers on the card.

I do not think Zuffa Boxing expects Fisher to achieve anything meaningful in boxing. Most probably only consider him on the fringe of the British top-15 rankings, but he still has value because he brings in viewers.

I think it's a way to try and stitch up Fast Car too.
They are paying a lot of money to do so

[Ruthless-RKO]