Johnny Fisher confirms Matchroom exit after signing with Zuffa Boxing

British heavyweight Johnny Fisher has signed a promotional agreement with Zuffa Boxing and will headline the company’s September 26 show at the Copper Box Arena in London.

The 27-year-old from Romford, who announced his free agency last month after being developed by Matchroom, will make his promotional debut on Zuffa Boxing 11. His opponent and undercard details are due to be announced in the coming weeks, with the event to be shown as part of their output deals on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland and streamed on Paramount+ in the United States and Canada.

Fisher’s move gives Zuffa another recognisable British ticket-seller as its boxing operation expands its schedule in Britain and Ireland. Callum Walsh’s fight with Tyler Denny in Dublin on August 8 comes two months after Chris Billam-Smith’s stoppage win over Ryan Rozicki in Bournemouth, while Monaghan’s Aaron McKenna is scheduled to face Etinosa Oliha for the IBF middleweight title on the same Dublin bill.

Fisher returns to a venue closely associated with his following. His supporters, the “Bull Army”, dubbed the 7,500-capacity Copper Box the “Copper Bosh” after his first-round knockout of Alen Babic there in July 2024, one of the most emphatic wins of his professional career.

“The most exciting chapter of my professional career begins,” Fisher said in a press release. “Thank you to Dana White, Nick Khan, and the Zuffa Boxing team for this opportunity. Everything has led to this point. Bull Army, get ready to assemble. Bosh!”

Matchroom exit signalled after Zuffa offer

The signing comes after Fisher and Matchroom reached the end of their promotional relationship, with Eddie Hearn previously saying he could not match the money on offer from Zuffa. Fisher had said the financial terms were “six or seven times” higher than what Matchroom had offered for comparable fights, while Hearn told IFLTV in June: “It’s over six times what I would pay [Fisher to fight] that opponent. If Zuffa offered half the money [they offered Fisher] we wouldn’t have matched it. Good luck, mate, go and sign it. I’m actually pleased for Johnny.”

Hearn’s position has been notably different from the bitter fallout that followed Matchroom losing Conor Benn to Zuffa. He has acknowledged Fisher’s commercial value, particularly as a reliable seller of tickets in London, while also making clear that Matchroom would not compete with Zuffa’s offer. Hearn later criticised the scale of the deal, arguing that paying close to seven times market value for fighters at that level was not sustainable.

Fisher’s move also follows a period in which his next steps were unsettled. He rejected an approach to fight unbeaten German heavyweight Emanuel Odiase in May, having previously agreed terms to challenge Jeamie TKV for the British heavyweight title. TKV instead faced Richard Riakporhe on the Tyson Fury-Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard in April and was stopped in the fifth round.

Rebuild after Allen setback

Fisher, 14-1 with 12 knockouts, is attempting to regain momentum after the first defeat of his career. Dave Allen stopped him in five rounds in last May, five months after Fisher had won a disputed 10-round split decision over Allen in Saudi Arabia. Allen, the most accomplished opponent Fisher has faced, revived his own career through their two-fight series and won the WBA Intercontinental title by avenging that points loss.

Fisher’s most recent appearance came against Ivan Balaz in Monte Carlo last December, where he survived an early scare before forcing a fourth-round stoppage. Several hooks appeared to badly hurt Fisher and send him to the canvas, but the referee did not call a knockdown. Fisher recovered, dropped Balaz three times and finished the fight before the end of the fourth.

The Zuffa deal places Fisher back in a headline slot rather than immediately into the British title picture. Paramount+ is also producing a documentary series about the Fisher family, set at his parents’ house, expected to be released in October, adding another layer to Zuffa’s investment in his profile.

Zuffa’s immediate task is to finalise Fisher’s opponent for September 26 and build out the Copper Box undercard. For Fisher, the date is the start of a new promotional run in a familiar London setting, with his rebuilding phase now tied to Zuffa’s first-year push in the British market.