Promoter Eddie Hearn says heavyweight Johnny Fisher (14-1, 12 KOs) fought like a “madman” initially in the first round of his fight against Ivan Balaz (7-1, 5 KOs) last Saturday night at the Salle des Étoiles, in Monte Carlo.
Wild Opening Round Scare
Hearn believes Fisher was “nervous” due to the way he was criticized for his loss to Dave Allen in his previous fight last May. So, Fisher, 26, came out swinging wildly and was dropped by a hard right hand from Balaz in round one.
Settling Down After Panic
After the first, Fisher settled down and took over the fight, dropping Balaz twice in the fourth round to get the knockout. It still wasn’t pretty to watch because Fisher was getting nailed even when he was trying to finish off Balaz.
Hearn says that Fisher’s career was on the line for the fight. If this is true, he may not be fighting too much longer because he didn’t look good enough in victory to suggest that he’s going to be effective moving forward. Without being matched against weaker opposition, Fisher will likely soon suffer another loss. He doesn’t have the chin to fight in the style that he uses.
On the positive side, Fisher looked powerful, dropping Balaz with a left hook in round four for the first knockdown of the round. He finished off Balaz with a right to the head to put him down for the second time in the round. Referee Aurel Pena halted the fight at 1:19 of round four.
“Johnny Fisher, I don’t know what he was doing in the first round. I believe he was just nervous,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, trying to make sense of why heavyweight Johnny Fisher was hurt in round one against Ivan Balaz last Saturday.
Hearn: Career Was on the Line
“People don’t understand that after that defeat [against Dave Allen], you kind of get ridiculed a little bit. If he loses tonight, basically, his career is over. He comes out, and I told him as he was walking down the stairs, ‘Just relax, just take your time, and get behind the jab.’”
Hearn didn’t say whether he’ll match Fisher against stiffer opposition moving forward. He didn’t look any better after his loss to Allen. The chances are, he’ll suffer another knockout defeat if Hearn matches him against someone decent.
“He came out like a madman. They were both swinging up. He got hit with a huge shot, got hurt, switched to rugby for 30 seconds, and he just survived,” said Hearn. “Tony got him back on his jab, and then he boxed really nice after that and broke the guy down. I’m really pleased for him because there was massive pressure on him.
“I know he’ll get criticized, but that was a lot of pressure on him tonight. If it goes the other way in that first round or second round, you’re done. So, that was a big win for him,” said Hearn.
