Johnny Fisher outweighs heavyweight rival as Michael Pirotton issues knockout threat ahead of Saturday's Copper Box clash

Johnny Fisher outweighed Michael Pirotton when the two heavyweights took to the scales at the official weigh in.

The "Romford Bull" fights Belgium's Pirotton at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.

After a first full training camp with new coach Tony Sims, Fisher scaled 243lbs, with Pirotton 240.6lbs.

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Fisher is looking to take advantage of Sims' knack for turning "normal blokes into people that can compete at levels that they could never dream of".

Pirotton though is unfazed by the threat of a 'new look' Fisher.

He points out the recent fate of Fisher's new gym-mate Conor Benn, who was rapidly dispatched by Ryan Garcia inside two rounds. That's what the Belgian wants to do to Fisher.

"His trainer is Conor Benn's trainer," Pirotton said. "Did you see the fight? I hope the same thing as Conor [for Fisher].

"I guess he's going to show me some different stuff, like maybe use more of his jab, maybe more feints, maybe more moving, maybe, maybe, maybe, I don't care.

"He's used to the big stage, I'm not. So my mind needs to stay cold. I need to stay focused and be able to use my IQ because I think that's the way I'm going to beat him."

Fisher did struggle in his fights with David Allen, but is determined to progress. He hails Sims' influence, and that of John Ryder, a former Sims fighter and now assistant trainer.

"He [Ryder] went from getting beat for the British title to fighting in front of 100,000 people in Guadalajara in Mexico and he's just a normal bloke," Fisher told Sky Sports.

"So Tony Sims has got that ability to turn normal blokes into people that can compete at levels that they could never dream of and that's because he gives you self-belief, he gives you great tactics and he makes you super fit. Tony's a great man."

He's convinced he has the tools to defeat Pirotton.

"I think he's got a high workrate. He's never been stopped. He's going to be durable, he's going to have ambition coming into it. He throws a lot of body shots," Fisher said of his opponent.

"But there's certain things there I'm looking at just from my perspective and what Tony's told me and thinking I can exploit a few of them things. He's a big tall unit but he's not got a lot of flesh on the bone sort of thing."

The Belgian however intends to use Fisher's impassioned home support against him.

Pirotton warned: "When he starts to realise I'm not the easy first fight of his contract he was promised, he's going to say: 'Oh, I'm going to get beat in front of all these people.' And the pressure's going to flip in his head.

"He's going to say: 'Oh this guy is faster than me, this guy can do some stuff that I didn't see in this fight.'

"I think I have the talent to surprise people," Pirotton maintained. "The odds are really against me, but don't discourage me."

Fisher admits he takes risks, and that can leave him vulnerable.

"My tale of adversity is one that's been done many times before. People who have gone through hardships. And that's what makes a story," he said.

"People want to see the ups and downs of a story. Nobody's tuning into a fight and thinking it's going to go all swimmingly and it's going to be great.

"People want twists and turns. I've given them a few of them already."

Watch Fisher vs Pirotton this Saturday, live on Sky Sports.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Johnny Fisher outweighs heavyweight rival as Michael Pirotton issues knockout threat ahead of Saturday's Copper Box clash