Johnny Fisher's Fading Legs Tell a Bigger Story Than His Win Over Pirotton

Johnny Fisher got the decision he needed against Michael Pirotton at the Copper Box Arena, but the three scorecards handed in after ten rounds tell a story his raised hand did not: a heavyweight who started fast and finished barely standing.

A storming start built on jabs and body work

Fisher had just watched gym-mate Craig Richards lose in the chief support when he walked to the ring, and he answered any nerves by going forward from the opening bell, throwing double jabs at Pirotton. The Belgian replied with a left hook, but Fisher's Romford Bull Army found their voice, stamping feet and chanting his name to fill the Copper Box with noise. Fisher drove himself onto Pirotton, occasionally leaving himself open by leaning over his front leg, and Pirotton caught him with a right cross in reply. Working with new trainer Tony Sims, Fisher also showed some bobbing and weaving, staying in the pocket long enough to pummel the body. He opened a cut over Pirotton's left eye early, one bad enough that the doctor examined it in the fourth round.

The turning point Fisher could not sustain

On the restart in round four, Fisher sensed his moment, hooking hard to the body before driving a right down onto Pirotton's head, a combination that shook the Belgian back into the ropes. Getting through that round cost him. Pirotton fired back in the fifth as power visibly drained from Fisher's punches; the Belgian blasted a right into a tiring opponent and landed following head shots. Fisher struck back before the bell but was flagging, and by the sixth he was searching for a second wind, found in a series of chopping hooks that rattled Pirotton's head. Round seven brought a wild, missed right hand from Fisher followed by an explosive left that forced Pirotton back into the ropes, yet the Belgian kept coming forward, threading a right over Fisher's jab and absorbing a second cut around his left eye without being deterred.

A verdict split three different ways

By the tenth round, Pirotton's left eye was almost fully closed and Fisher hurt him again, lashing in shots as the crowd roared, then windmilling rights in one last push. He could not find a decisive finish and was exhausted at the final bell. What followed showed how differently the three judges had watched the same fight: one card had it level at 95-95, a second gave Fisher the contest by a single point at 96-95, and the third scored it 98-92, a six-point gap between the widest and closest reading of the same ten rounds.

Fisher won a majority decision, but a fight that one judge could not separate is not the platform from which heavyweight contenders usually build.

Nelson's caution about the next step

Sky pundit Johnny Nelson used the broadcast to urge caution about what comes next for Fisher, saying he needs to be smart with who he fights and that Dillian Whyte should not be his next opponent. Given how the Pirotton fight unfolded, with Fisher fading through rounds five and six before rallying late, that caution looks harder to dismiss than the win itself suggests.

Research: This article uses the archived evidence supplied for this story. Story inspiration: Sky Sports' original report.