Johnny Fisher vs Michael Pirotton: Heavyweight Clash at Zuffa Boxing 11
Johnny Fisher is back in London, and this time the stakes feel heavier than the gloves.
The “Romford Bull” tops the bill at Zuffa Boxing 11 at the Copper Box Arena, where he meets Belgium’s Michael Pirotton in a heavyweight clash that looks less like a tune-up and more like a crossroads. One man wants to charge up the rankings. The other wants to hijack the script in front of a partisan crowd and walk away with his name ringing around British boxing.
Date, time, and how to watch
Fisher vs Pirotton takes place on Saturday, September 26, live on Sky Sports from London’s Copper Box Arena.
Sky Sports’ main card coverage begins at 7pm, with the Fisher–Pirotton ringwalks expected between 9.45pm and 10.15pm. The early undercard will be streamed on Sky’s digital platforms from 5pm, setting the stage for a night stacked with 50-50 matchups and unbeaten prospects risking their records.
The records: power vs resilience
Fisher arrives with 14 professional wins and just one defeat. His reputation is built on heavy hands and ruthless finishes: 12 of those 14 victories have come inside the distance, an eye-catching knockout ratio north of 85%. When he lands clean, nights tend to end quickly.
Pirotton brings a 12-2 record, with six stoppages of his own. Both of his defeats came against unbeaten opponents, a detail that quietly underlines the level he has already tested himself against. He’s not coming to London to make up the numbers or to play the role of durable opponent. He’s coming to derail a rising favourite in his own backyard.
Fisher: “My golden ticket”
Fisher knows exactly what this fight represents. The Copper Box, the Sky Sports cameras, top of the bill – this is the platform he’s been pushing towards.
“It’s a golden ticket for Michael Pirotton, but it’s also my golden ticket because if I win, I get to go on to bigger and better things. I’ve got ambitions in this game,” he told Sky Sports.
The knockout, of course, is what his fans crave. It’s what his record suggests. But Fisher insists the result comes first, the manner of it second.
“You want to get the knockout, you want to get the stoppage, but I’ve always said from the beginning of my career, I’ve got to win by whatever cost – the win is the most important thing.
“But with my power, my strength, my explosivity, of course I can draw a knockout or draw a stoppage.
“Once I get someone hurt, I know I can finish them. I can smell when someone’s feeling it or in trouble.”
That instinct – the ability to sense vulnerability and close the show – is exactly what his team will expect to see if Pirotton starts to unravel under pressure.
Pirotton: “He can’t knock me out”
Across the ring stands a man utterly unconvinced by the hype.
Pirotton has studied Fisher, respects the tools, but refuses to accept the ending that many in the arena will be predicting.
“He’s a tough guy, he’s strong guy, he’s a decent guy, but he can’t knock me out,” he said.
“I’m not over and it’s not over until I say it’s over.”
It’s a bold statement, especially against a puncher with Fisher’s numbers, but that defiance is exactly what you need when you’re walking into enemy territory, under the lights, with the crowd roaring for a home stoppage.
The Copper Box stage
Zuffa Boxing 11 is built to entertain. This isn’t a one-fight show padded with mismatches; it’s a card laced with risk for fighters at very different stages of their careers.
In the chief support, former world light-heavyweight title challenger Craig Richards resumes his hunt for another crack at the top when he faces Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic. Richards has mixed with elite company before and will see this as the launchpad for another world championship charge. Kalajdzic, hardened and dangerous, has his own ambitions and more than enough power to ruin those plans.
British middleweights Lee Cutler and Louis Greene are set for a firefight. Both like to come forward, both like to trade. On paper, it looks like one of those domestic dust-ups that could steal the show if neither man takes a backward step.
Unbeaten Preston prospect Leon Hughes steps in with 10-3 light-heavyweight Michael Stephenson, a test that should reveal exactly where Hughes sits in a crowded division.
Cesar Mateo Tapia, flawless so far in 19 professional contests, meets Leo Ruiz, the California-based Mexican with a 17-1 record. That’s the kind of matchup where somebody’s momentum takes a serious hit.
Kayla Allen makes her professional debut, beginning a journey that starts under the glare of a major televised card. Alex MacMillan, already on a winning run, faces 2-0 Frenchman Guillaume Azagier in a bout that could push the victor towards bigger domestic nights.
London-based Moldovan Aurel Ignat, who stunned Scott Forrest with a first-round knockout last year, puts his unbeaten record at risk against Mexican Olympian Rogelio Romero. Romero is 6-0 with a 100% knockout ratio – every fight finished early, every opponent unable to hear the final bell. Ignat knows what it’s like to spring an upset; Romero looks like he’s coming to dish one out.
Fred Pullen, a national champion in the amateurs, makes his professional bow against Italy’s Leonardo Faretina, while American Alexis De La Cerda meets Ireland’s Cain Lewis in a clash of unbeaten prospects. Someone’s “0” goes, and nights like this are where careers quietly change direction.
What’s on the line?
For Fisher, this is about more than another highlight-reel finish. It’s about proving he can carry the expectation, headline a card, and still deliver when the pressure tightens around him.
For Pirotton, it’s the chance to silence an arena, shock a fanbase, and turn a “golden ticket” into his own breakthrough night.
One man leaves London with momentum. The other leaves with questions.
