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Romford Bull in a china shop: Johnny Fisher bids to restore reputation in Dave Allen rematch
For all that Johnny Fisher has spoken about his confidence after the final bell in Riyadh heralded the end of a slugfest with Dave Allen, there surely must have been some doubt.
The Romford Bull had been the heavy pre-betting favourite, widely tipped to make short work of the veteran, a former sparring partner from his early days as a professional boxer.
Such tags had been played down by the star, one of the rising figures of the British heavyweight scene, but there was little doubt his team felt another knockout win was en-route.
Instead, Fisher was dropped in the fifth and came away with a split-decision points victory considered contentious by many in attendance at the Kingdom Arena that night.
Allen, a journeyman fighter who never quite broke through to the next level, could never quite get his hands on a minor strap, had planned to retire after facing a familiar face.
Instead, his performance prompted acclaim from pundits and promoters alike, and earned him a shot to settle the score, with a chance for revenge due this week in London.
Fisher and Allen will meet at the Copper Box Arena, a far cry from the Middle East, but a fitting venue for a domestic showdown that carries far greater stakes for its younger star.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
A keen amateur rugby player who boxed in his early teens, Fisher only returned to the sport during his second year of his degree, studying history at Exeter University.
There, he was a sparring partner for Joe Joyce, the former Olympian comfortably into his professional career and looking to make waves across the division himself.
Something clearly clicked for Fisher - after just a handful of amateur bouts, he was signed to go pro too and debuted in 2021 at Wembley Arena against Matt Gordon.
Victory came in a matter of seconds, securing a brutal first-round TKO stoppage - and setting a template for expectations that followed across the next three years.
Save a points win over Gabriel Enguema, Fisher built a reputation for fast knockouts and disciplined blows, dispatching opponents left, right and centre in the ring.
In July 2024, he was handed his toughest challenge yet in the shape of former WBC bridgerweight challenger Alen Babic, a fight expected to take him into deeper waters.
Instead, Fisher stuck to a now-familiar script. He unloaded fast in the first round and finished matters before the bell could even ring, adding another showreel finish.
It is little wonder he was expected to put Allan, a man seven years his senior and already retired once before, onto his back on the canvas when they met in Saudi Arabia.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Speaking in March, at a press conference to trail their fight, Fisher admitted that he had fought about a second dance with his foe "every night" since Christmas 2024.
"I said I can't be a real man if I don't come and run this fight back," he said. "I know I can do it a lot better. I can do a better job of it. We've got to give the people what they want."
It is not just what the people want though. It is a blemish - effectively the lone blemish - on a boxing career that has been talked up as one that could flourish to the highest level.
Fisher, and heavyweight starlet Moses Itauma, were frequently grouped across 2024 with Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke as the future face of the British heavyweight division.
But down on the canvas on a sweltering winter evening seveal thousand miles from home, such notions felt far away for the former, as he struggled to wrestle back control.
When referee Bob Williams raised Fisher's arm as the scorecards were read out, the faintest flash of relief skitted across his visage before the full reality sunk in.
To his credit, the Romford Bull has never been a fighter high on his own supply, a figure reluctant to engage with the hyperbole around his flourishing reputation.
Yet he knew irresepctive of the result here, it had taken a hit - and that there would likely be only one route forward to buff out the damage dealt by his opponent.
"As professional heavyweight boxers, people want to see bloodthirsty fights, and I'm ready to do it all again," he said. "That's what I'm trained to do, that's what I was born to do."
Born he may be, but Fisher will know his hopes of pushing further up an increasingly crowded division, crammed with old hands and new blood, narrow if he messes up here.
For him, only one result - and a convincingly brutal one at that - can restore the missing lustre to his armour, and catapult him back into the conversations he will be chasing.
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