Heavyweight Johnny Fisher and trainer Mark Tibbs split
Heavyweight champion Johnny Fisher and trainer Mark Tibbs part ways
"The Romford Bull" Johnny Fisher has announced his split from long-term trainer Mark Tibbs.
26-year-old Fisher shared the following statement on social media on July 22, 2025: "It is with a heavy heart that, after almost five years of being on this professional journey together, me and Mark have decided to part ways.
"Boxing is the toughest sport in the world, and to continue, I feel I need a fresh start to get the best out of myself. Me and Mark have made some special memories and reached some milestones in my career that many thought we never would achieve.
"More importantly than all of this, though, is the friendship we have gained, and to know that I have Mark and Jimmy in my life and to be able to call them both friends is an honour.
"Thank you for everything."
Together, Fisher and Tibbs won Southern Area and WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight titles, and was awarded 2023 Young Boxer of the Year.
Fisher started boxing late after initially playing rugby for a number of years. His father, "Big John", boxed at amateur level and his grandfather also boxed, and his siblings have also boxed too. Johnny had a brief amateur career of only 10 bouts, three ending in first-round stoppages.
Fisher has been boxing since before his teens, he stopped for a while, but only to pick it back up in his second year of university when he began to spar Joe Joyce. Fisher earned a 2:1 degree in history from the University of Exeter.
Johnny made his professional debut aged 21-years-old on 20 February 2021 against Matt Gordon on the undercard for the David Avanesyan vs. Josh Kelly fight at the Wembley Arena. He won by TKO 2:29 into the first round, with his opponent being both counted and knocked down before the stoppage.
He went on to win eight of his first nine bouts by knockout.
Then he won his first title, the BBBofC Southern Area heavyweight title, on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius at the O2 Arena, winning by seventh-round TKO against Harry Armstrong after knocking him down in the first round.
Fisher then scored two successive first-round stoppages, firstly on 3 February 2024 in Las Vegas against Dmytro Bezus; then he sensationally knocked out "The Savage" Alen Babić within just 36 seconds into their main event fight at the Copper Box Arena in London on 6 July 2024.
Disaster almost struck in his next bout when he faced David Allen on 21 December, 2024, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fisher was knocked down for the first time in his career during the fifth round. However, he recovered to win via split decision, with two of the ringside judges scoring the fight 95-94 for Fisher while the third had it 96-93 in Allen's favour. The decision was met with loud boos in the stadium and Fisher's promotor Eddie Hearn even admitted: “I think the best I could hope for when I got in the ring was a draw."
Fisher and Allen agreed an immediate rematch at the Copper Box Arena in London on 17 May 2025. He lost by stoppage in the fifth round to suffer his first defeat as a professional.
