‘Romford Bull’ Set for 6X Payday in Zuffa Debut vs. Michael Pirotton

Saturday night marks the beginning of a new phase in Johnny Fisher’s heavyweight career, and it might bring him his largest payday yet.

The Romford Bull is set to make his debut for ZuffaBoxing by fighting Michael Pirotton from Belgium in the main event at the Copper Box Arena in London on 26th September. Fisher has a record of 14 wins to 1 loss with 12 of those being knockouts, and Pirotton is 12-2 having never been stopped. This 10-round match will also be Fisher’s first fight since his victory over Ivan Balaz in December 2025.

The mystery about Fisher’s decision, though, extends well beyond his opponent. Since he has spent his whole professional career with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, the well-known British heavyweight has accepted a single-fight agreement from Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing and the financial difference was apparently huge.

How Much is Johnny Fisher Earning Compared with Michael Pirotton?

The exact amount of Fisher’s official pay for the Pirotton fight has not been made public, so any figure given as his salary should be regarded as an estimate.

It is clear from what Fisher and Hearn have stated that the amount offered by Zuffa was more than six times the amount that Matchroom was willing to pay him in order to arrange the fight. When Ariel Helwani asked Fisher about the reports saying that the difference was about 6.5 times, Fisher agreed that the figure was correct.

The number is correct, said Fisher, though he didn’t reveal what it was. He also made it clear that the deal with Zuffa was much more profitable than the amount he would have earned from a British title fight with Matchroom.

Hearn also confirmed the size of the offer. In an interview with Pro Boxing Fans, the chairman of Matchroom stated that his own offer was “less than a sixth” of Zuffa’s and made it plain that matching the money did not make any business sense.

It has been suggested that Fisher might earn a large six-figure sum or even more than £1 million for his first fight for Zuffa, but no official figure from the contract has been released. It is certain, however, that Saturday will be the largest guaranteed amount that Fisher has ever received.

Fisher Says There Is No Bad Blood With Eddie Hearn

Even though he had left Matchroom, Fisher’s departure was quite different from some of the more acrimonious promotional splits in boxing.

Fisher had remained with Matchroom since the time he became a professional in 2021 and made it a practice to keep Hearn informed as he was considering his options. He subsequently told The Ring that Matchroom had given him “some very good offers”, but he wished to find out how much he was worth on the open market. Zuffa then made to him what Fisher referred to as a “tremendous offer”.

Money was obviously a significant factor. Although Fisher admitted that professional boxers have short careers and that each fight could be their final one, he also pointed out the chance for prominent exposure on Sky Sports and the possibility of establishing a longer relationship with Zuffa.

The best evidence that no hard feelings existed came from the Hearn family. Fisher had a telephone conversation with Barry Hearn, the founder of Matchroom, before reaching his final decision, and Barry told him to accept the deal with Zuffa. Similarly pragmatic was Eddie, who famously told Fisher to ‘walk, swim or crawl’ to get the deal.

For Fisher, the business aspect is now settled, while the more difficult part relates to what takes place inside the ring.

Although Pirotton doesn’t have the same profile as Dave Allen, Fisher’s earlier rival, the Belgian has never been beaten and now has the chance to undermine Zuffa’s new heavyweight promoter in Britain. Fisher has admitted that this is a danger and has described Pirotton as an opponent who is there to “spoil the party”.

Since Fisher already has a payment that could be the make-or-break moment of his career, he now has to show that Zuffa’s large investment was worthwhile.