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johnny fisher He survived a shock first-round defeat by stopping Ivan Balazs in the fourth frame in Monte Carlo to win his comeback fight on Saturday.
Fischer entered Monaco after suffering the first defeat of his professional career. Disastrous performance against former training partner Dave Allen In May.
In fact, that defeat followed Fischer’s controversial decision win over Allen in December, and meant the “Romford Bull” was under immense pressure on Saturday, as he faced late replacement Balazs.
and his boxing Future looked in the air as he was knocked out with two left hooks in the first round. The referee did not actually consider that moment a knockdown, appearing to have taken issue with some of Balazs’s grappling between the two punches, yet Fischer was clearly hurt.
With just 30 seconds left in the round, the 26-year-old got back to his feet, but perhaps too quickly, and charged towards Balazs before the bell rang.
At the start of the second frame, Fischer was drawn into even more dangerous exchanges while still shaky, while Slovakia’s Balazs appeared composed.
Fischer soon clipped Balazs with his best shot of the fight, but only after a low blow immediately followed, causing the referee to immediately give Fischer a point.
Upon the restart of the round, Balazs staggered Fischer again, but the 29-year-old looked somewhat tired in the third frame.
Before the fourth, Fischer spoke sternly to his new coach Tony Sims in his corner, who replaced Mark Tibbs this yearAnd Sims’ advice proved vital.
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Fischer dropped Balazs with a left hook in the fourth round, then dropped the Slovak with another hook within seconds of the restart. In another attack the officer stopped the fight, leaving Fischer shouting into the crowd: “F***ing come on! I’m alive, don’t give up!”
In his post-fight interview, Fischer said: “About a year ago, I said, ‘I’m not a man.[chester] City, I’m not AC Milan; I’m a Stoke City man. Well, it turns out I’m Romford United. We keep going.
“There are a lot of things I need to improve on, but that will come in time with my new trainer, Tony Sims. A lot, [I was] Very curious. When you’re fighting big guys like this, they come out swinging. I may have left myself too open.
“Every time you see me I guarantee one thing: you’ll get your money’s worth. We’ll keep going, going, and going until I can’t go anymore.
“It was all on the line, so when I went down, something ignited inside me — what my father told me, what my grandfather would have told me. I have the heart, but the strategy will come. We’re building something good here.”
Fischer’s promoter eddie hern Adding: “I don’t think people realize how much pressure he was under tonight. You lose here tonight, you’re talking, ‘Where do you go?’
“I told them on the ramp: ‘Just take your time.’ He did anything but that, but he managed, and maybe it’s the experience he gained in those two fights [with Allen] Who crossed him.
“You don’t have to make it so exciting all the time! That was a really important moment in his career. He showed a lot of courage to overcome that. He’s going to be much, much better than that.”
This fight was the third consecutive bout in which Fischer suffered a defeat, as he fought Balazs on only a few days’ notice. Balazs, who was unbeaten before Saturday, was stepping in for Uganda’s Herbert Matovu.
Fischer, now 13-1 (11 KOs), has long had a strong following – in part due to the online presence of her father, Internet personality “Big John.”