Fisher survives knockdown, stops Balaz in 4

Johnny Fisher (14-1, 12 KOs) kept his career alive with a shaky performance, knocking out little-known heavyweight Ivan Balaz (7-1, 5 KOs) in the fourth round on Saturday night at the Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo.

Balaz scores first round knockdown

Fisher, 26, was dropped by a right hand from Slovakian heavyweight Balaz late in the first round. Things looked bleak for him at that point in the battle. He just barely managed to get out, somehow, without being finished.

Rabbit Punch Controversy

In the fourth round, Fisher’s power took him out as he knocked Balaz down with a left hook. From there, ‘The Romford Bull’ Fisher knocked Balaz down twice more with beautiful right hand hook shots.

It was perfect form for Fisher’s punches to the back of Balaz’s head to drop him for the final two takedowns. Granted, it wasn’t the ideal way to win, but if referee Aurel Pena isn’t going to say anything, what can you do? The official time of the stoppage was at 1:19 of round four.

Fisher’s defense still a problem

Fisher’s performance showed that he won’t go far in his career without drastic improvements in his defense. He gets hit too easily. More problematic than that is that when he does get nailed, he goes down. Fisher’s strike resistance isn’t what it needs to be for him to compete beyond the local level.

No signs of improvement

In Fisher’s previous fight, he was knocked out by Dave Allen in the fifth round last May. I didn’t see any improvements in his performance against Balaz to suggest he learned from that loss. Take away the two rushing knockdowns from last night, Fisher might have lost.

Bellew reacts to the scare

“He’s shown he can get through a crisis. That guy’s undefeated. He gets nailed by a shot he doesn’t see to the top of the head on his temples. It scratches your legs,” said commentator Tony Bellew. DAZN Boxingtalking about how Fisher was dropped by Balaz in round one.

“I saw him looking at Derek Chisora, who was shouting at him: ‘Just hold him.’ He was paying attention because he was holding on for dear life. He showed that he can survive a crisis, and he got the win,” Bellew said.