ZUFFA Boxing 11 preview: Johnny Fisher headlines first London card against Michael Pirotton

ZUFFA Boxing makes its first trip to the English capital this weekend, with London's Copper Box Arena playing host as Romford's own Johnny Fisher looks to continue his rise through the heavyweight ranks against Belgium's Michael Pirotton.

Fisher has become one of the most recognisable young heavyweights in British boxing, with his notoriety outside the ring continuing to grow alongside his performances inside it. A win against Pirotton would certainly help solidify that status.

With a lot to gain from the fight, Pirotton will be looking to hand Fisher a major setback while making his own name on the biggest stage of his career.

With the ‘Romford Bull Army’ expected to pack out the Copper Box Arena, Fisher will have plenty of support behind him as he looks to close out ZUFFA Boxing's first London event with the win.

Entering the Copper Box on Saturday, Fisher holds a 14-1 professional record, with 12 wins coming via knockout, most recently stopping Ivan Balaz in four rounds last December.

The 27-year-old has endured some difficult nights in recent years, most notably his two fights with Dave Allen, winning their first encounter via split decision before being stopped in the fifth round of the pair’s rematch.

Despite the setback, Fisher has remained committed to the all-action style that has made him such a popular figure, with the ‘Romford Bull’ joining forces with Tony Sims as his coach to add more to his game without taking anything away from what has made him so exciting.

Fisher has made no secret of his ambitions either, believing that his profile, following and exciting style mean he could be just one or two fights away from landing a major heavyweight opportunity.

A win over the Belgian on Saturday would therefore be another important step towards the bigger fights Fisher has been chasing.

Pirotton enters the ring with a 12-2 professional record, with six of those wins coming via knockout.

After a difficult 2025 which saw him suffer defeats to Piotr Lacz and Juan Alberts, Pirotton got himself back to winning ways with stoppage victories over Fernando Brito and Jiovani Sheik in May and August of this year.

Even with the two losses attached to his record, the 30-year-old has never been dropped across his professional career, providing Fisher with a durable opponent to deal with on his promotional debut with ZUFFA Boxing.

Pirotton knows the size of the task in front of him but has already made it clear in the build-up that he is not concerned by the home support, insisting he has been working towards an opportunity like this throughout his career and will not allow the outside noise to get to him.

A victory over the Englishman would undoubtedly be the biggest win of his career and could completely shift the trajectory of the Belgian's career.

Craig Richards and Radivoje Kalajdzic will go head-to-head in the co-main event, with the pair meeting over 10 rounds at light heavyweight.

Richards enters the ring at the weekend with a 20-4-1 record, with 13 wins coming via knockout, heading into the fight off the back of stoppage victories over Padraig McCrory and Dan Azeez.

His win over Azeez in Accra, Ghana, back in December saw him claim the vacant IBF International light heavyweight title.

Standing across from him will be Kalajdzic, who holds a 30-3 record with 22 of those wins coming via knockout.

The 35-year-old's most recent outing came in February, when he stopped former WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the seventh round after being dropped twice earlier in the fight himself.

For Richards, a win over an experienced opponent like Kalajdzic could place him back into the conversation for another world title opportunity, while the American will look to build on the biggest win of his career when he steps into the Copper Box.

Still on the main card, both Louis Greene and Lee Cutler will bring plenty of experience into their 10-round middleweight clash, with Greene entering at 19-4 with 12 of those wins coming via knockout, while Cutler sits at 16-2.

Both men head into the bout off victories. Cutler stopped Aaron Sutton in the third round of their fight back in June on ZUFFA’s first British event in Bournemouth.

Greene picked up a points win over Daniel Buciuc in August on the undercard of ZUFFA’s first endeavour in the Irish capital for McKenna vs Oliha.

With both men having plenty of experience behind them, a win could potentially open the door to bigger domestic fights at middleweight.

Unbeaten English prospect Leon Hughes will look to continue his rapid start to professional boxing when he takes on Michael Stephenson over six rounds at light heavyweight.

The 21-year-old from Lancashire enters the Copper Box with a 5-0 record, with four of those victories coming by knockout.

Already this year, Hughes has picked up two wins, with his latest coming on his ZUFFA Boxing debut in Bournemouth in June, stopping Bulgaria’s Mario Vergiev in the third round after an impressive display of punch selection.

Stephenson brings a much greater level of experience into the contest, holding a 10-3 record and having already competed at English title level.

The 33-year-old also held the Midlands Area light heavyweight title before losing it to Gyvon Henry in April 2024, before later challenging Troy Jones for the English title in November that year.

With Hughes still building his name in the sport and Stephenson having already competed at domestic title level, the six-rounder gives the unbeaten young prospect another chance to prove himself against a more experienced opponent.

Cesar Mateo Tapia will put his unbeaten record on the line when he faces Leo Ruiz in a 10-round middleweight clash between two fighters looking to make their mark with ZUFFA Boxing.

Tapia enters the bout 18-0-1 with 11 knockouts, having been born in Mexico before growing up in Australia. The 28-year-old last fought in March 2025, stopping Sergei Vorobev in five rounds to claim the IBF Intercontinental title, and will now make both his promotional debut for ZUFFA and his UK debut.

Ruiz brings a 17-1 record with nine knockouts to the Copper Box, with his only defeat coming against Elias Haedo in 2023. Since that day, he’s won two fights back-to-back, including a fourth-round stoppage over Casey James Streeter at ZUFFA Boxing 3 earlier in the year.

Tapia will have the added task of adapting to a new setting and dealing with a pressure fighter in Ruiz as he looks to maintain his unbeaten professional record.

Having only started boxing a short time ago, Kayla Allen will make her professional debut against Germany’s Lisa Mronz in a six-round super lightweight contest, opening up the main card.

The 21-year-old Londoner became the first female fighter signed by ZUFFA Boxing, making her a landmark addition as the promotion continues to build its roster.

Despite her limited years in the game, Allen has enjoyed a hugely successful amateur career, winning the 2025 Senior Elite Championships, the 2025 European U23 Championships and the 2026 Boxam Tournament before making the switch to the professional ranks when signing for ZUFFA Boxing.

At 37 years old, Mronz enters the contest with a 2-0 professional record. The Aachen-based fighter has already picked up a stoppage win as a professional.

Despite her relatively short time in the sport, Allen enters the professional ranks with an impressive amateur pedigree behind her as she looks to begin her professional career with a victory on home soil.

The preliminary card is topped by an intriguing cruiserweight clash between Rogelio Romero and Aurel Ignat. Romero is unbeaten at 6-0 with six knockouts, while Ignat is also undefeated at 11-0 with eight stoppages.

Romero reached the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics before turning professional, while Ignat has fought his last nine bouts in London.

Also fighting, Alex MacMillan (4-0, 3 KOs) will face France's Guillaume Azagier (2-0) over six rounds, while unbeaten featherweights Alexis De la Cerda (9-0, 5 KOs) and Cain Lewis (10-0-1, 2 KOs) meet in another six-round contest.

The card opens with Fred Pullen making his professional debut against Italy's Leonardo Faretina, who brings an 8-9-2 record into their four-round lightweight bout.