“The Romford Bull” Johnny Fisher (13-1, 11 KOs) 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.”
56-year-old Mark Tibbs has trained world champion Billy Joe Saunders; heavyweight world title contender Dillian Whyte; as well as Frank Buglioni and Richard Riakporhe. He is the son of world champion trainer Jimmy Tibbs, who trained Nigel Benn.
Fisher and Tibbs won Southern Area and WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight titles together, as well as being awarded 2023 Young Boxer of the Year.
From Essex, England, Fisher started boxing late after initially playing rugby for a number of years growing up.
His father, “Big John”, has become an online personality with his catchphrase, ‘Bosh’, and he boxed at amateur level too, and his grandfather also boxed, as well as Johnny’s siblings, so boxing well and truly runs in the Fisher family.
Johnny had a very short amateur career consisting of only 10 bouts, three of which ended in first-round knockouts.
Fisher boxed as a teenager, but then stopped for a while, only to pick it back up in his second year of university when he began to spar Joe Joyce. Fisher graduated with a 2:1 degree in history from the University of Exeter.
Under the tutelage of Mark Tibbs, Johnny made his pro debut aged 21-years-old in February 2021 against Matt Gordon and won by TKO 2:29 into the first round.
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 opening round.
Fisher then scored two highly-impressive 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 headlining fight at the Copper Box Arena in London on 6 July 2024.
Despite his momentum, his next bout went disastriously wrong when he was battered and bettered by 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 him, while the third had it more realistic at 96-93 in Allen’s favour. The decision was met with loud boos in the arena, as 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.
Only in his mid-20s with very few miles on the clock, fans will be pleased to discover that Johnny Fisher will continue to box, despite the setbacks.
Many observed that he had found his level in the sport, but with a fresh change of trainers, he could well come back new and improved.
