LAST Saturday, Johnny Fisher lost his undefeated record in a dramatic knockout defeat to Dave Allen and now Fisher’s trainer, Mark Tibbs, has admitted that he should have thrown in the towel sooner.
As the primary ticket seller in the main event of a sold-out Copper Box Arena, the difficulty of deciding to pull Fisher, 13-1 (11 KOs), out of his must-win rematch against Dave Allen, 24-7-2 (9 KOs), should not be underestimated.
Yet, when Fisher dropped to the canvas in the fifth round, just as he did in his first encounter with Allen in Riyadh, there was a sense of inevitability of what was to come.
However, with just mere seconds remaining on the clock, Fisher bravely and desperately rose to his feet and attempted to reach the end of the round in order to recalibrate and recover between rounds. ‘The White Rhino’ did not allow Fisher the chance to do so.
Instead, Fisher fell face-first after a show-stopping two-punch combination cemented the upset win for Allen in style and thrust him into the mix for a shot at domestic honours.
Speaking with Boxing News, Tibbs reflected on the stoppage and revealed his belief that he should have thrown in the towel earlier.
“We were almost there [throwing in the towel after the first knockdown] and I want to give my guy every bit of chance but in hindsight I was a little later than I would have liked to have been with that towel.
“I think that the referee more or less beat me to it or we did it at the same time but yeah it was a good finish by Dave.”
“It is a fine line between giving your guy a chance of getting to the end of that round so that we can analyse and see where we at [and being late with the towel]. There was eight seconds left, and I can beat myself up about it because I could have done it five seconds earlier, but it is what it is.”
Whilst many fans have now begun to write Fisher off from future success, Tibbs remained positive and detailed that ‘The Romford Bull’ simply lacked the experience to outthink his veteran opponent.
“If he is still in the business in three- or four-years’ time he will be twice as strong, twice as wise and he will know how to manage and pace fights.
“He gave himself every bit of chance to win that fight, but you can’t buy experience. He has got a big heart, he is a big, strong character but he lacked the experience of ring management and ringcraft, and we learnt that the hard way.”
Whilst Fisher is left contemplating what’s next, Allen has earned a deal with Matchroom Boxing and has been linked to a showdown for the British heavyweight title against the victor of David Adeleye and Jeamie TKV.
