Johnny Fisher makes his Zuffa Boxing debut on Saturday, September 26, against Belgium’s Michael Pirotton in a 10-round heavyweight main event at the Copper Box Arena in London. Zuffa Boxing 11 streams live on Paramount+ in the United States, with prelims at 12 p.m. ET and the main card at 2 p.m. ET, and airs on Sky Sports in the UK. The card comes two weeks after Ryan Garcia stopped Conor Benn in two rounds at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on the promotion’s last outing.
Fisher (14-1, 12 KOs) signed with Zuffa Boxing in July after spending his entire professional career under the Matchroom banner. “The most exciting chapter of my professional career begins,” Fisher said when the deal was announced. “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!”
Saturday marks the 27-year-old’s third headline appearance at the Copper Box. He knocked out Alen Babic there in 36 seconds in July 2024, then suffered the only loss of his career in the same building in May 2025, when Dave Allen dropped him twice on the way to a fifth-round stoppage in their rematch. Fisher rebounded last December in Monte Carlo, surviving a rocky opening round before stopping the previously unbeaten Ivan Balaz in four. That was his first fight under trainer Tony Sims; Saturday is his second.
“Of course, he’s a danger,” Fisher told Sky Sports of Pirotton. “He’s a big unit, he’s as tall as me, maybe a touch taller. He’s got a few knockouts on his record and anyone at this level who’s 17 stone plus and lands on your chin, there’s always danger in the heavyweight division. There’s jeopardy and moreso when I fight as well. Because I do go out there looking for the attack. I go for it. You can get caught doing that. So I’ve got to be careful as well.”
Asked in the same interview whether he intends to attack Pirotton from the start, Fisher said he has little choice. “I’ve got to. That is the best form of not only attack for me but also defence. Loading bombs onto someone else. That’s the best way for me to box,” he said. “But with a little bit of knowhow and knowledge from Tony [Sims] coming into it now, I think that’s just going to make me a little bit more effective in doing that. You can’t change what you are, you can’t try and be something you’re not. I’ve tried that in the past, it doesn’t work. You’ve got to be who you are in the boxing ring as well. I think that’s what’ll do.”
Fisher also made clear what he believes a run of wins can bring in the current heavyweight landscape. “That’s where we want to get, to the big time,” he said. “You’re two fights away from being in a big fight.”
Pirotton (12-2, 6 KOs) has won his last two bouts, most recently a third-round stoppage of Jiovani Sheik, and will be boxing in England for the first time. “I have been working towards an opportunity like this my entire career, and the time has come,” Pirotton said when the fight was announced. “I know it’s going to be a massive crowd of Johnny Fisher fans, but I’ll be ready. Respect to Johnny and the Romford Bull Army, but he’s in for a tough night.”
The Belgian, priced around 7/1 by bookmakers, told Sky Sports that his two defeats came during a stretch when boxing could not pay his bills. “I had to accept fights when I was not ready or barely training because I had to work,” Pirotton said in an interview with Sky Sports. “Guess what, some of us are plumbers, some of us are doormen.”
“I took two losses. I know the losses were meaningful to become the man I am today. I know these losses came from outside the ring, not really inside,” he continued. “Maybe if I didn’t have those setbacks, I wouldn’t be able to believe in myself so deeply like I am now. I think that’s how I’m going to prevail over my opponent on the 26th. Because I know his mind is broke and he’s facing too much pressure for himself. He can act tough and cocky and all that but he’s never been through what I’ve been through. I’ve been broken, broken, broken again and still I rose. I’m still here.”
The co-feature pairs former world title challenger Craig Richards (20-4-1, 13 KOs) with Radivoje Kalajdzic (30-3, 22 KOs) over 10 rounds at light heavyweight. Richards, 36, has won three in a row, most recently stopping South London rival Dan Azeez in the 12th round of their December meeting in Ghana. Kalajdzic, a Serbian based in Florida, climbed off the canvas twice to stop former WBC titleholder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the seventh round at Zuffa Boxing 2 in February, and went the 12-round distance with David Morrell in 2024.
“It’s a very exciting fight. Everyone knows Kalajdzic can punch, I can punch, we’ve both been two fighters who haven’t shied away from competition,” Richards said on Sky Sports News when the bout was announced. “We’ve been in with everyone, we’ve mixed it, we both probably want to push on now towards that world title and I feel like it’s a great opportunity. UK vs USA, that mix always goes down well! I’m up for it, I’m excited and I think this is now going to be the best version of me going into the new chapter and I get to go and display what I’m about.”
The main card also features an all-British middleweight bout between Lee Cutler (16-2, 8 KOs) and Louis Greene (19-4, 12 KOs) over 10 rounds, a 10-round middleweight fight between Cesar Mateo Tapia and Leo Ruiz, and a six-round light heavyweight contest matching Leon Hughes with Michael Stephenson. Former Team GB amateur Kayla Allen makes her professional debut against Germany’s Lisa Mronsz in a six-round super lightweight bout. The prelims include Rogelio Romero against Aurel Ignat at cruiserweight, Alex MacMillan against Guillaume Azagier at super welterweight, Alexis de la Cerda against Cain Lewis at featherweight, and Fred Pullen making his professional debut against Leonardo Faretina at lightweight. The complete Zuffa Boxing 11 lineup has been published by the promotion.
