Johnny Fisher has become the latest fighter to join Zuffa Boxing, splitting from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom to sign with the rival promotion.
Fisher has a cult following in London and Essex, and he had become one of Hearn’s biggest stars over the last three years, helped in part by the reach of his father “Big John”, a social-media sensation.
Fisher’s popularity has come in spit of his patchy recent form, however. The 27-year-old won a controversial decision over Dave Allen in late 2024, before suffering a fifth-round stoppage in their rematch last May, and even his comeback win – a fourth-round TKO of Ivan Balaz in December – saw Fisher hurt in the first round.
Perhaps Zuffa is trying to capitalise on Fisher’s popularity, in any case, or maybe this signing is another attempt to get one up on Matchroom.
After Zuffa launched in January, it signed Matchroom’s longtime fighter Conor Benn in February, with the British welterweight leaving Hearn despite the promoter’s support over a two-year saga that stemmed from Benn failing two drug tests.
The switch came days after Zuffa boss Dana White, who also serves at the president and CEO of mixed-martial-arts behemoth the UFC, had launched his latest verbal attack on Hearn.
Bad blood between American White, 54, and Hearn, 47, has continued to flow since then. The pair, who were formerly friendly, have even publicly discussed boxing each other.
Of Fisher’s Zuffa move, Hearn said: “It’s amazing, and I’m so happy for him, because it’s a [one-]fight [deal] that can go and pay a mortgage.”
But he also told TalkSport: “Johnny Fisher – rightfully so, by the way, because he’s had a defeat – wants to have opposition that he would be competitive with. He wants low-level fights to get in a bit of a swing – two, three fights like that. For me, I can’t deliver that product for [broadcaster] DAZN, because you’d laugh it out of town.”
