Skip to main content
The Morning Star Shop
Fisher to face Babic, plus looking ahead to AJ v Dubois
JOHN WIGHT writes about the Romford heavyweight prospect, who will face the most difficult test of his career so far when he takes on the Croatian boxer in London this weekend
Johnny Fisher celebrates victory in the vacant Southern Area Heavyweight Title bout against Harry Armstrong at the O2 Arena, London, August 12, 2023

LONDON’S Copperbox Arena in London this weekend, on July 6, is where Romford’s young, charismatic and explosive heavyweight prospect, Johnny Fisher, will face by far the most difficult test of his career so far in the personage of Alen Babic.

Babic, from Croatia, has earned a deserved reputation for violence in and out of the ring. Carrying the mean countenance of a stereotypical Bond villain, his popularity with purists of the game has been earned not via the application of a slick boxing skillset but by the unbridled deployment of mass artillery.

In other words he doesn’t play, Alen Babic. He comes to seek and destroy. Johnny Fisher does likewise, which is why this particular fight has a distinct “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” flavour to it.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Ricky Hatton in the ring at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas ahead of the World Title Fight against Floyd Mayweather, December 4, 2007
Obituary / 19 September 2025
19 September 2025

From Manchester pubs to global arenas, Ricky Hatton embodied working-class pride in and out of the ring, but his last round was fought in solitude, writes JOHN WIGHT

Joe Bugner (left) with Henry Cooper, after beating him at the Empire Pool on points, March 16, 1971
Men’s Boxing / 12 September 2025
12 September 2025

Vilified by the public after defeating Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner’s remarkable career and tragic decline reflected the era’s attitudes as much as the man himself, says JOHN WIGHT

British Heavyweight boxer Frank Bruno speaking at the first ever Annual Dinner of the Professional Boxers Association in London, watched by commentator Harry Carptenter, June 22, 1994
Men’s boxing / 29 August 2025
29 August 2025

Amid riots, strikes and Thatcher’s Britain, Frank Bruno fought not just for boxing glory, but for a nation desperate for heroes, writes JOHN WIGHT

American boxer Mike Tyson (left) throws a punch at Briton's Julius Francis, during their heavyweight fight at the MEN Arena, Manchester
Men’s Boxing / 16 August 2025
16 August 2025

In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT

Similar stories
Oleksandr Usyk, December 21, 2024
Men’s boxing / 13 March 2025
13 March 2025
Daniel Dubois (left) and Joseph Parker during a press confer
Men's boxing / 14 January 2025
14 January 2025
Boxers Britain's Tyson Fury (left) and Ukraine's Oleksandr U
Men’s boxing / 22 December 2024
22 December 2024
Brit loses title showdown against Ukraine’s Usyk by unanimous decision at weekend