Johnny Fisher is no doubt a boxing fans’ favourite – soon the test will come to show he can be a heavyweight of interest.
‘The Bosh Army’ will be more than 4,000-strong tonight at the Copper Box – or ‘Copper Bosh’ if you are so inclined – when he takes on Alen ‘The Savage’ Babic tonight. Bringing that number out when there’s a clash with England in the quarter-finals of a major tournament is quite some feat.
That’s not to include the rest of the summer of sport that’s ongoing with Wimbledon, the British GP and the Tour de France. Of course, the latter three may not have many fans which crossover with boxing, but Fisher is still getting people out of their armchairs and into arenas.
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That’s half the battle to being a top professional these days. The 25-year-old is unbeaten in 11 fights but is also building numbers away from the ring. His dad ‘Big John’ is not to everyone’s taste but the Chinese takeaway eating machine turns the dial on social media. It all builds up.
But the real test will come down to can he fight. Ricky Hatton and Josh Warrington build strong fan bases but being popular also means being good. We don’t know yet how good Fisher is. Mark Tibbs is in his corner which gives you an indication that he has something.
Who do you think will win when Fisher faces Babic? Let us know in the comments section below
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Babic, the kooky Croatian, is not the litmus test that Fisher needs to show he can be in the next era of heavyweight stars. But it will be a fun fight. Babic is maybe an example to Fisher that being a novelty act won’t get you far if you don’t deliver in the ring.
The hype about the Croatian was halted when Lukasz Rozanski stopped him inside a round at bridgerweight. That’s Rozanski who didn’t last three minutes with Lawrence Okolie.
Fisher needs to make light work of Babic if he wants to get people’s attention for his boxing and not just his ‘Bosh’ catchphrase being cultivated by his old man. There’s an elite next crop of heavyweights coming with Moses Itauma leading the way to take over from the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois among others.
Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke are currently the best of British level. Then there will be Olympians Delicious Orie and Pat Brown soon turning over to the pro game after Paris.
Fisher can sell. Soon we need to see if he can really fight.