The Copper Box Arena is built for noise, and Johnny Fisher brings plenty of it with him. On Saturday, September 26, the heavyweight crowd-pleaser steps into a crucial crossroads fight against Belgium’s Michael Pirotton, live on Sky Sports, headlining Zuffa Boxing 11 in east London.
This is more than a showcase. It’s a test of whether Fisher’s raw power can be converted into real momentum – and whether Pirotton can turn a hostile night into the biggest breakthrough of his career.
Date, time, and how to watch
Fisher vs Pirotton tops the bill on Saturday, September 26. Live coverage from the Copper Box Arena begins at 7pm on Sky Sports, with the preliminary bouts streamed from 5pm on Sky’s digital platforms.
Ringwalks for the main event are expected between 9.45pm and 10.15pm, the point in the night when the atmosphere usually tips from loud to feral.
The stakes for Fisher and Pirotton
Fisher comes in with a record that screams danger: 14 wins, just one defeat, and 12 of those victories by stoppage. An 85% knockout ratio in the heavyweights is not padding; it’s a warning.
He knows it, too.
"It's a golden ticket for Michael Pirotton, but it's also my golden ticket because if I win, I get to go on to bigger and better things. I've got ambitions in this game," Fisher told Sky Sports. He talks like a man who understands that nights like this either accelerate a career or stall it.
He wants the finish, of course he does. "You want to get the knockout, you want to get the stoppage, but I've always said from the beginning of my career, I've got to win by whatever cost - the win is the most important thing," he said. Then came the reminder of what makes him such a draw: "But with my power, my strength, my explosivity, of course I can draw a knockout or draw a stoppage. Once I get someone hurt, I know I can finish them. I can smell when someone's feeling it or in trouble."
Across the ring stands Pirotton, a man used to being the outsider. He brings a 12-2 record, with six knockouts, and a quiet edge. Both of his defeats came against unbeaten opponents, a detail that underlines the level he has already dared to face.
He’s not here for the paycheck or the occasion.
"He's a tough guy, he's strong guy, he's a decent guy, but he can't knock me out," Pirotton told Sky Sports, cutting through the noise with blunt intent. Then the line that sums up his mindset: "I'm not over and it's not over until I say it's over."
For Fisher, this is about proving he’s more than a fan favourite with heavy hands. For Pirotton, it’s a chance to silence an entire arena in one punch.
Venue: Copper Box Arena, London
Zuffa Boxing 11 lands at the Copper Box Arena, a venue that has become a reliable stage for high-intensity domestic cards. Compact, loud, and unforgiving, it suits Fisher perfectly. The “Romford Bull” has built a reputation on turning nights like this into events, dragging his following with him and feeding off the energy.
That same cauldron can flip. If Pirotton starts to find success, the noise can turn from celebration into tension very quickly.
Records at a glance
- Johnny Fisher: 14-1 (12 KOs) – a heavy-handed contender looking to restart a climb toward bigger names and bigger nights.
- Michael Pirotton: 12-2 (6 KOs) – durable, tested, and convinced he can withstand the storm and flip the script.
The matchup has the feel of a classic heavyweight equation: one man backed by hype and power, the other backed by stubborn belief that he won’t fold.
Stacked support: Richards, prospects, and 50-50s
The main event sits on top of a card designed with jeopardy in mind. Zuffa Boxing 11 is built on tight matchups and unbeaten records being risked.
In the chief support, Craig Richards resumes his hunt for world honours. The former world light-heavyweight title challenger faces Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic in a fight that could propel the winner straight back into elite contention. Richards wants to relaunch a world championship charge; Kalajdzic wants to slam that door shut and walk through it himself.
British middleweights Lee Cutler and Louis Greene are set for the kind of domestic scrap that rarely disappoints. Both come forward, both like a tear-up. “All-action” isn’t a slogan here, it’s a warning.
Unbeaten Preston talent Leon Hughes steps in against 10-3 light-heavyweight Michael Stephenson, a matchup that will show whether Hughes’ promise holds up when the resistance stiffens.
Cesar Mateo Tapia brings a perfect 19-0 record into a meeting with Leo Ruiz, the Mexican based in California who stands at 17-1. Someone’s rise is going to slow down. Someone else’s is going to accelerate.
On the development side of the card, Kayla Allen makes her professional debut, while Alex MacMillan looks to keep his own winning run alive against 2-0 Frenchman Guillaume Azagier.
There’s real intrigue in the heavyweight clash involving London-based Moldovan Aurel Ignat. He shocked Scott Forrest with a first-round knockout last year and now risks his unbeaten record against Mexican Olympian Rogelio Romero, a 6-0 puncher from Juarez with a 100% knockout ratio. It’s the kind of fight that rarely needs judges.
Fred Pullen, a national champion in the amateurs, takes his first professional steps against Italy’s Leonardo Faretina. On another part of the bill, America’s Alexis De La Cerda meets Ireland’s Cain Lewis in a clash of unbeaten prospects that should tell us exactly who’s ready to move faster.
A night that demands answers
From top to bottom, this is a card built around risk. Records are on the line, reputations too.
At the centre of it all, Johnny Fisher walks into a London arena with expectation on his shoulders and a Belgian heavyweight determined to ruin the script standing in front of him.
If the “Romford Bull” is serious about bigger and better things, this is the kind of night he simply cannot afford to let slip.
