Johnny Fisher weathered a frightening opening before ending Ivan Balaz’s night in Monte Carlo with a fourth-round stoppage. A crunching hook from the Slovak left Fisher visibly wobbly in the first, and a follow-up flurry and shove sent him down against the ropes — a knockdown that the referee curiously did not signal.
The Romford Bull, seeking to rebuild after a rematch loss to David Allen, looked vulnerable with defensive lapses early on but steadied himself and turned the contest around. In the fourth, a right hand put Balaz on his knees; when Balaz beat the count, Fisher landed another heavy right that sent him back to the canvas and prompted the referee to halt the fight.
On the same card, Conah Walker produced a brutal finish to his bout with Pat McCormack, landing a ferocious combination in the 12th that sent McCormack through the ropes. The referee stopped the contest as McCormack sagged on the ropes.
The evening also featured a major upset as Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira was dropped in the opening round and ultimately stopped in the fifth by Turkey’s Elif Nur Turhan, who captured the IBF lightweight title with a sensational victory.