British 24-year-old heavyweight Johnny Fisher is back fit again and prepares to make his Stateside debut this weekend on Conor Benn’s undercard at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. The Romford Bull has spoken of a desire to build further domestically after scoring a seventh-round stoppage win over Harry Armstrong to win the Southern Area heavyweight title on August 19.
Fisher finds motivation as promising 2024 kicks off
- Heavyweight pro Johnny Fisher (10-0, 9 KOs) outlines his active fight plan for 2024, injury-permitting: Vegas this weekend, April-May, August-September and one before Christmas in December
- 24-year-old won the Southern Area strap with a R7 TKO win over Harry Armstrong on Joshua-Helenius undercard last August and there’s no rush, but he naturally wants a steady rise in opposition as experience builds
Conor Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) vs. Peter Dobson (16-0, 9 KOs)
Welterweight main event from Las Vegas’ Cosmopolitan Hotel
Estimated ringwalks from 10.30pm BST
Two weeks shy of a year since his last fight ended abruptly against a 10-0 British pro, Ukrainian heavyweight Dmytro Bezus faces another – albeit one with less fanfare and more of a steady rise – in Johnny Fisher this weekend.
David Adeleye was, and still is, highly regarded by those within Queensberry but it feels pointed the former WBO European titlist was painfully exposed just eight months after that win on Saudi Arabian shores against Fabio Wardley.
Naturally, that’s not what Eddie Hearn or the other Matchroom bosses want for their charge in Fisher, a fan-friendly and affable boxer from humble beginnings whose amateur background consists of some university bouts representing Exeter.
Fisher sustained an undisclosed hand injury during his seventh-round stoppage win over former sparring partner Harry Armstrong last August, but now is raring to go and kick off a potentially promising 2024 campaign where he wants to edge closer towards English and British-title contention. Given the existing landscape, why not?
“We sat down with Eddie before Christmas, you have a blueprint where you want to go – don’t want to look too far ahead but we’re looking at the English and British. I won the Southern Area title against Harry, a great little title to win with a lot of history, well respected and there’s always been good fights for it.”
- Fisher verbalising his ambitions are a good thing
Solomon Dacres (8-0, 2 KOs) holds the English title at present, while it won’t be long before Wardley searches for bigger opportunities than defending the British strap – assuming Olympic bronze medallist Fabio Clarke is next in-line as expected.
Highly-regarded teenage prospect Moses Itauma is slated to box Germany’s Ilja Mezencev on the Fury-Usyk undercard next month and while he’s been ordered by the British Boxing Board of Control to face new stablemate Dacres before July 1, multiple sources told moandsports.com they’ll be exploring a different route for now.
“That was the first notch on the belt, but you want to keep building because everyone’s aim is to win titles and eventually fight for a world title one day.
Whether that’s three, four, five years down the line or you might get a shot in 18 months, you don’t know, just have to keep winning and grafting – we’re going in the right direction, that’s what matters.”
This weekend’s card in full
Welterweight: Conor Benn vs. Peter Dobson
Middleweight, 10 rounds: Austin Williams vs. Armel Mbumba-Yassa for IBF International title
Light-heavyweight, 8 rds: Khalil Coe vs. Juan Gerardo Osuna
Heavyweight, 8 rds: Johnny Fisher vs. Dmytro Bezus
Middleweight, 6 rds: George Liddard vs. Andrew Buchanan
Middleweight, 4 rds: Jimmy Sains vs. Alejandro Avalos
Picture source: Getty Images
Mo and Sports 