The unexpected rise of Johnny Fisher can only be a good thing for British boxing

THERE was a moment in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction when Jules Winnfield, played by Samuel L. Jackson, tries to explain his reluctance to eat pork – or “pig digging” – by describing pigs as “dirty animals” in an interview with John Travolta’s Vincent Vega.

This then leads to Vincent Vega asking if the person who hit him also considered dogs as dirty animals, Jules Winnfield said, “I wouldn’t even call a dog dirty, but they are dirty.” But a dog has a personality. Personality goes a long way.”

Never has this been truer, I’ve often thought, than in boxing. Show some personality and you have a good chance of getting a job, especially if you can promote yourself and show off. Furthermore, and more importantly, if you can show personality as a boxer, you are already in the middle of cracking it; that is, making the kind of money that most boxers will never see in their professional careers.

After all, personality is what ensures that a boxer stands out from the crowd. For better or worse, it lets them know who they are and gives fans a reason to watch them. Some will watch and follow a boxer because their personality is likable, while other fans hate watching a boxer because his personality rubs them the wrong way. No matter how much pressure there is as the boxer is being looked at, they are equipped to make a living with this sport that tends to take from boxers as it gives.

In the case of Johnny Fisher and Alen Babic, humanity, it’s fair to say, has come a long way. For him, both heavyweights have done a great job lifting so far in their careers, but that doesn’t mean these men can’t fight or that being popular is somehow bad.

In fact, and conversely, the kind of following cultivated by both Fisher and Babic will undoubtedly be the envy of many of their peers. It will be the envy of peers because just being popular opens up opportunities for both; which also results in these two already banking on respectable paydays.

The next one will come on July 6 at the Copper Box Arena, where they will meet over 10 rounds. This, of course, means that many will scoff at the fight and take it as just an example of two donkeys doing a derby, but to see the fight only in those terms is to miss the point entirely. To see the fight in those terms is to overemphasize style or beauty and ignore the fact that fighters like Johnny Fisher, in particular, are a dying breed in British boxing.

“Johnny Fisher has long been the biggest ticket seller in the country,” said Eddie Hearn, who will promote Fisher vs. Babic next month. “Over 3,000 tickets have been sold in Big John’s (Fisher’s father) front room. Thanks for all your efforts. We are expecting around 7,000 people at the Copper Box on July 6 and what a great atmosphere it will be.”

While one may question the exact numbers mentioned, nothing Hearn said is untrue. Like it or not, Fisher, with the help of his dad and the rest of the ‘Bosh’ (sorry) brand, has built himself a following that both his fans and promoters can count on every time he steps foot in the ring. It’s easily mocked, and often is, but in the game of crowd-pulling, Fisher these days represents something of a throwback to a bygone era. He does things the old-fashioned way, in other words.

The hard way. You go out there, sell tickets in person, and now you’re reaping the benefits of all this effort. Even though his personality outweighs his talent, which you could argue it does, no one can deny the importance of boxers like Fisher to promotions and the sport as a whole.

It’s easy to believe that British boxing is thriving when you see so many British boxers appearing on fight cards in the Middle East these days, but this view is ultimately naive, short-sighted. To succeed, to indeed To thrive, British boxing needs more fighters like Fisher, who, in the world of programming and broadcasting, can still guarantee real bangers in the seats.

We should never forget the importance of this, regardless of how many British boxers travel to Saudi Arabia and find their dreams come true. Because, in the end, the ability to reach real people and sell tickets is something that is very safe, and to some extent pure, there are other ways of generating income that are currently being tested and accepted in British boxing today.

Sometimes, and naturally, we shoot at the wrong target. For example, just three weeks after Fisher and Babic collided at ‘Copper Bosh’ (sorry, again), there is another heavyweight fight that, both, should definitely be watched and criticized. This one, which takes place at the O2 Arena and features Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora, is not only a fight that takes place after many years but a fight that, one might argue, sells people at the expense of life.

While boys Johnny Fisher and Alen Babic are both new to the scene, Joyce, 38, and Chisora, 40, have more miles on the clock and more age. Worse than that, ‘War’ Chisora ​​​​(34-13, 23 KOs) in recent years, he has made the ability to take boxing and stay honest with his whole personality, your end – money, opportunity – becomes nothing when one thinks. about its long-term effects.

Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora ​​(Stephen Dunkley/Queensberry)