Matchroom plan to relaunch Johnny Fisher’s career in November or December after the heavyweight confirmed Tony Sims as his new trainer.
The Essex-based Sims has not only long often been favoured by Matchroom fighters, he guided Anthony Joshua from his professional debut to the IBF heavyweight title and, in Kevin Mitchell and John Ryder, proved influential in the careers of other defeated fighters whose careers were successfully rebuilt.
The 26-year-old Fisher’s name was absent among the dates Matchroom so recently announced for their autumn schedule. He will, however, be prioritised thereafter having had longer to work with Sims. His promoters, similarly, also don’t believe that their long-term plans for one of their most popular fighters need to be “reassessed”- the path he was previously on will be resumed in 2026.
“We’re looking for him to get out probably November, December time,” Eddie Hearn told BoxingScene. “This’ll be either an eight-rounder or a 10-rounder. When you’re working with a new trainer and you’ve been knocked out, you want to come back with a little bit of a confidence booster. Every fight’s dangerous in the heavyweight division but Johnny’s a young man, and he’s got plenty of time ahead of him, and we just want to make sure we make the right steps before moving into big fights in 2026.
“Tony and Mark are both tremendous trainers. Sometimes in your career you need a change — you need to switch things up — and coming off a close fight and a defeat, Johnny felt it was time just to freshen things up. I don’t think you can fault Mark Tibbs as a trainer, and I think Tony’s resume speaks for itself.
“It’s been a while since Tony’s had a big heavyweight. In the early years he was a big part of Anthony’s development as a heavyweight, so I think Tony’s very excited at the link up. There’s a little bit of a rebuilding process for Johnny to take place, but everybody’s excited with the decision.
“I expected him to beat Dave Allen in Saudi, and then I expected him to beat Dave Allen in London. You saw the crowd at the Copper Box — it was completely sold out. It was a blow, certainly, for the plans of Johnny Fisher, because I believe he was going to go on and be in British and Commonwealth championship fights and sell out the Copper Box and The O2, but there’s still time for that and I think he’ll learn a lot from the defeat.
“When Johnny started he didn’t have an amateur background, so it’s not a guy who’s come out of the Olympics or world championships and you’re thinking, ‘This guy is gonna win world titles.’ But at the end of the day I did believe that Johnny Fisher, going into the Dave Allen fight, could certainly win British, Commonwealth championships, and I still believe that as well. We haven’t really had to reassess anything but we’ve probably had to take a step back and maybe allow him to get the development he needs to get himself into that position.”
Hearn was then asked to what extent Fisher’s popularity meant him not being discarded like other fighters might have been in the event of a damaging defeat, and he responded: “When you sell tickets it’s easier to get opportunities and that’s helped Johnny Fisher on the way through. But I’m not really looking at Johnny Fisher right now as a ticket seller. I’m looking at him as a promising young heavyweight that’s got beat and needs to rebuild.”
He continues to co-promote fellow heavyweights Teremoana Jnr and Justis Huni, of Australia, where England’s Fisher is yet to fight but is so well known.
The fight with Allen happened ahead of when Tibbs had expected — the trainer believed Fisher was instead going to fight in Australia — and asked if a date there remained in their plans for Fisher, Hearn said: “Absolutely. The one thing that’s quite crazy, especially with his dad [John] as well, is that popularity around the world. He’s actually got a huge fan base in Australia, and part of this development, maybe taking these smaller fights, will involve some kind of international stop offs as well.
“We’re just as excited now as we’ve ever been. He’s got a great chance to come back; a great head on his shoulders. His dad’s a big influence; they know what they’re doing. He’s got a good team around him, and I truly believe that he’ll be back.”
