Johnny Fisher claims Alen Babic approached his trainer Mark Tibbs

Johnny Fisher has insisted that Alen Babic wanted to appoint Mark Tibbs as his trainer before having to settle for Paschal Collins.

The 25-year-old Fisher confronts his biggest test as a professional at London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday, where the aggressive Babic, 33 and from Croatia, will lie in wait.

Tibbs, his trainer, has already said that he previously identified Babic as the test Fisher needed having observed him when he was hired to spar Dillian Whyte.

More recently Babic, who is fighting under Collins for the second time, said that he could see that Tibbs was “worried” ahead of the heavyweight contest, and when came Fisher’s turn, he claimed that Babic had wanted to be reunited with his trainer all along.

“Alen Babic actually wanted to join our gym, a few months back,” he said. “I don’t know what happened there. [Tibbs] obviously didn’t say, ‘Yes’, but it’s interesting. 

“[Tibbs has] always fancied that fight, and now seems like the perfect time to do it. I’ve got belief in myself no matter what, but it’s only gonna be a plus point if your trainer loves the fight as well. If I said, ‘I’m gonna fight Anthony Joshua’, and he goes, ‘It’s a bit soon for that, John’, it’s not gonna be a positive, is it? You want someone your trainer thinks, ‘We can do a number on him’. 

“He knows him very well. He’s obviously been around the gym when he’s been with Dillian, and he knows him well. That’s a big advantage. That’s bigger than all the advantages. That’s the man who’s going to be giving me instructions in the ring. He knows what Alen Babic does.

“There’s no substitute for that. Boxing is still an art form, and it’s about technical ability as well. Not just about smashing people up. If it was about that, I’d be a world champion now. But it’s not about that. You’ve gotta use finesse; you’ve gotta use skill; tactics, and that’s what Mark Tibbs is great at.

“It’s a step up in that he’s known by the British public. He’ll bring the heat in a different way to Harry Armstrong, who I thought was meant to be a step up. But that’s good, ‘cause when you’re standing in front of me, it means I can hit you in the head, and that’s not a good place to be.

“Good fighter. Brings the heat. That’s what people wanna watch. Fought on the same couple of cards as him as well; one here; one at The O2. He’ll bring the heat, but that’s good.

“I watched a bit [from ringside] when he was here at Fight Camp [at Matchroom’s premises in Brentwood, Essex]. From what I’ve seen he doesn’t have the power to deal with the bigger men, do you know what I mean? But he’s gonna bring the heat, and I’ll be ready.”

Babic lost for the first time in April 2023, when in the lightly regarded bridgerweight division he was stopped by Poland’s Lukasz Rozanski inside a round. 

He then recruited Collins and relocated to Dublin to work under the Irishman, and was rewarded when he stopped Steve Robinson in their first fight together in March.

“He’s a bridger/cruiser in my opinion,” Fisher continued. “He’s not as small as I remember, actually. He’s quite tall. He said to me, ‘You’re not as big as I remember’. I said, ‘You’re not as short as I remember’. Which is probably a good thing – a target to hit.

“He might be able to hold the shots better [at heavyweight]. The heavyweight weight he fought at at the time – it’s not too different to the bridgerweight weight. It was neither here nor there. The bottom line is I’m the bigger man. That should be an advantage for me, but it all depends on how I execute the plan to make it an advantage.

“I don’t look into it too much, because every fight’s different. The Rozanski that turned up to fight [and lose inside a round to Lawrence] Okolie’s different to the Rozanski that turned up to fight Babic; the Babic that turns up to fight me is different to the one that fought Rozanski.

“It doesn’t make me think anything. It just makes me think, ‘I’ve got to deal with the fighter that Alen Babic is’, and whether that’s a 6ft 6ins guy or a 6ft 1ins guy, I’ve gotta execute my game plan accordingly.

“It does encourage me, but it also doesn’t play on my mind that I don’t think that Alen Babic is gonna turn up. I’m expecting Alen Babic to turn up, 10 rounds; gruelling; so I’ve got to be prepared for that. But I know if that guy can knock him out, there’s no reason why I can’t.”