Johnny Fisher wins Southern Area belt in shootout with Dirty Harry

Johnny Fisher secured the vacant BBBofC Southern Area heavyweight title with a seventh-round TKO victory over Harry Armstrong. The bout took place on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius event on Saturday night at London's 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.

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.

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.

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.

During his post-fight interview, Johnny Fisher stated: "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 ten rounds if I had to; I know I've got the instinct inside me to dig deep and keep digging deep."