Can Johnny Fisher Become a Serious Heavyweight Contender Under Zuffa?

A Johnny Fisher fight is much more than a boxing match. It is the centrepiece of an alcohol-fuelled party and a celebration of ordinary Englishness. 

Johnny owes some of his appeal to his dad, who become a social media sensation simply for being incredibly fat. Fisher Senior has a world-class appetite and regularly consumes portions that would leave a family of six feeling overstuffed.

Despite their fame, the Fisher family will never be celebrities in the normal sense. They come across as the kind of salt-of-the-earth neighbours that every Brit cherishes.

Hard core boxing fans were under no illusion as to the limits of Johnny Fisher's boxing career. He was clearly powerful and game, but was as stiff as a board. But Johnny himself dared to dream of bigger things.

I once asked him whether he dreamt of being world champion when he was a kid.  He became quite emotional. Inspired by Rocky, he would box tea towels in the kitchen, and yes, he did indeed picture himself with a world championship belt around his waist.

But boxing was not the only thing Fisher could do. His imposing size and natural strength allowed him to shine on the rugby pitch, and his good brain got him into Exeter University, where he majored in history. Naturally drawn to conflict, he wrote his dissertation on aerial bombardments in WW2. 

As a heavyweight boxer, Fisher soon discovered he could sell out arenas, much to the delight of his promoter Eddie Hearn, who hails from the same county of Essex. The whole ethos of the Essex man is of the ordinary guy who, through hard graft and native wit, does well in life. A Fisher fight was a celebration of that.

Then it all went wrong. He barely survived against journeyman, Dave Allen. A rematch was ordered and this time, Allen didn't leave it to the judges. Fisher's legions of fans were silenced when they saw their hero planted face first on the canvas from a sweeping left hook.

But fortune smiled on Johnny Fisher. Zuffa's Dana White was on a mission to do damage to his rival, Eddie Hearn. He didn't care that Fisher's winning record had been snapped. He knew that Fisher was close to Hearn's heart. He stepped into the Essex promoter's backyard and stole away his favourite son.

Adding insult to injury, Dana even went for a meal in the Fisher's favourite Chinese restaurant, the legendary Blue Orchid in Romford. 

Fisher was well looked after by Eddie Hearn, but like any prize fighter, he went where the rewards were greater.

But Dana is doing more than just showering Johnny with cash. He's sending him to the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, where he'll be subjected to a battery of cutting-edge tests. The idea is to tune his training regime perfectly to his own body. 

This kind of investment has boosted Johnny's self-belief and left him looking forward to fights against some big names in the heavyweight division. Dillian Whyte could be next. He also wants Deontay Wilder.

Self-belief and conditioning can take a man a long way in boxing, even if his skillset is less than stellar. Could Fisher have a higher ceiling than people imagine?