JOHNNY FISHER blasted his way to his first professional title by seeing off ‘Dirty’ Harry Armstrong after a seven-round slugfest at the o2 Arena.
The 24-year-old Romford Bull dropped Armstrong heavily in the first round but could not finish the job until midway through the seventh against his tough, game opponent who landed some shots of his own.
The victory was enough for Fisher to move to 10-0 and also claim the southern area heavyweight title.
He said: “After I dropped him in the first round, he showed the heart of a warrior so big credit to Harry Armstrong, what a tough man.
“I was ready to go the 10 rounds if I had to, I know I’ve got the instinct inside me to dig deep and keep digging deep.”
Eddie Hearn added: “That’s his first belt and it’s a great one to win. Southern Area, English then British…he is going to fill this place when he fights for the British. He is a great British heavyweight prospect.”
As always, Fisher walked to the John Denver classic Country Road, while Armstrong stood in the ring signing along himself.
Roared on by his usually noisy following, Fisher made a scintillating start and dropped Armstrong after 12 seconds. He landed hard with the first jab he threw and then followed it up with a cross which sent him over.
Armstrong got up in time but looked as though he was on the verge of being stopped as Fisher piled on the pressure. But he managed to just about ride the storm and stay on his feet until the end of the round.
Through the second and third, Armstrong was back in the fight but it was Fisher who was landing the more meaningful shots. However, every time he did, the man from Torquay just smiled back at him.
However Fisher should have scored another knockdown seconds before the end of the fourth when a right hand-left hook combination sent Armstrong into the ropes. Another referee might have given him a count but it was allowed to continue and Armstrong held on once more.
But Fisher made another huge breakthrough in the seventh which dropped him to one knee. He somehow got up to beat the count but Fisher was all over him again. He was also badly cut by the shot and blood was instantly pouring down his face as Fisher turned the screw.
In the end, it needed the towel to come in from Armstrong’s trainer Don Charles to stop the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 1:19 of round seven.
Earlier, Campbell Hatton went eight rounds for the first time in his career against Tom Ansell.
Hatton, still only 22, had racked up three stoppages in his previous four outings but was taken the distance here although he dominated large parts of the fight. Referee’s Sean McAvoy 78-74 scorecard in the youngster’s favour was a fair reflection of the fight.
Before that, there was an entertaining six rounder at middleweight between undefeated George Liddard, who won 59-55 on referee Lee Every’s card against Dutch visitor Bas Oosterweghel.
Teenage featherweight Brandon Scott, who walked to the ring dressed as Darth Vader, beat the experienced Louis Norman over six at featherweight while, in the opening fight of the card, super flyweight Maisey Rose Courtney looked impressive as she cruised to a six-twos win over Gemma Ruegg.