Paschal Collins has dismissed suggestions that Alen Babic is too tiny to field Johnny Fisher.
The rivals will clash in the heavyweight division on Saturday at the Copper Box Arena in London, where the undefeated Fisher, 25, is the favourite.
Babic, 33, of Croatian descent, is fighting for the second time under Collins. He is also fighting for the second time since his only loss – a first-round knockout at the hands of Lukasz Rozanski in the under-respected bridge division.
The fact that Pole Różański was stopped in the next round by Lawrence Okolie, a natural cruiserweight, made the aggressive Babic’s defeat by him seem even more painful – and the truth is that there was never any doubt that the physically maturing Fisher was fighting at his natural weight.
Collins led Babic to a knockout victory over Steve Robinson in March. His fighter remains undefeated in the heavyweight division, and while he knows Babic can’t risk trading with Fisher, Collins has seen enough improvement and enough wins in the past for perceived undersized heavyweights to be convinced Babic can secure a top-profile victory.
“You get massive lifters like [Jarrell Miller]” said the Irishman. “He can punch; he fights at a ponderous pace; he tries to set up his punches. But then you get heavyweights like [Rocky] Marcianos of the world – be relentless. You have athletes who lift weights – really good athletes who have a certain style, who can apply and utilize their style to the best of their ability and beat anyone.
“John Ruiz – nobody said John Ruiz would lose to Roy Jones. James Toney beats Evander Holyfield. That’s bullshit. If you fight right and have the right game plan, the weight difference – it doesn’t make any difference. Look what Joseph Parker did. [Zhilei] Zhang and Deontay Wilder. He’s the smaller man. He’s tenacious.
“Alen, before he started working with me, he was kind of sticking his chin out. When Alen went to the gym, the first thing I did was neat up that defense. Tone up his defense. Same work rate, but not wasting too many throws. A lot of throws were wasted throws – missed throws. It’s balance; it’s reserve energy; throw the same amount of throws, but not wasting any, and keep your chin tucked in.
“Johnny Fisher is a good fighter. He’s a budding pro. There was talk of Johnny Fisher and Thomas Carty, my fighter. We were in Vegas in January at the UFC Institute. Thomas was there; Johnny was there. They were kind of entertaining to be around because people were talking about them eventually fighting.
“I called them and said, ‘Listen, you’re both up-and-coming pros, you’re not going to fight each other for a long time.’ Then they told me, ‘Johnny Fisher is going to fight Alen Babić.’ It’s an intriguing fight – it really is – and I like Johnny Fisher. He’s a rugby player – it’s a contact sport, rugby. You have to be tough to play it.
“The only thing I think Johnny will let down is his boxing. He’ll be there, he’ll be throwing punches. If he makes the mistake of trying to fight at the same tempo as Alen Babic, which a lot of newcomers will try to do, I think four or five rounds, he’ll just be out of it.”
This is the second time Collins and Babic have collaborated.
“He came to me in December,” he said. “He came to me because I had worked with Niall Kennedy before, who boxed him [Babic won via stoppage in 2020]. He came for a week; we hit it off. “It was intriguing working with him because he’s a pretty intense guy, but he’s my kind of fighter – he throws himself at fighters and sticks with them, but he does it in a way that he doesn’t get hit too much. In defense, he suppresses the other guy’s work.
“In this fight in particular, Johnny Fisher can hit from range and mid-range, so you have to hit him right in the chest and you have to throw punches to his guard and wear him down over time. Basically, it’s about going tough for 10 rounds and trying to wear Johnny Fisher down. But at that range – mid-range – he’s a hazardous fighter because he’s going to land those punches in those areas.
“He’s intense even outside the gym; outside the ring; a very intense type of person. He’s met a very irate man – an irate person. He’s not. It’s just his personality. When he comes to Dublin, he’s in training camp and he’s in the zone. He’s like a method actor – he gets into character. I’ve had that in Dublin for eight weeks. Sometimes it’s very tiring – sometimes I step away from it. But that’s just his style, so I just let him do it.
“[The first time] he came to me and told me what he wanted to do and I told him to fuck off and that was it. We came to an agreement because I wouldn’t put up with his shit. “Someone’s telling me what to do now.” He said he was coming to Dublin to give me a chance or something like that. “Who the fuck are you? I’ll give you a chance. Now fuck off.” Sorry about the French. He fucked off. He went back to Croatia. He called me and said, “Will you train me?” I said, “Sure.” He knew I wouldn’t fall for it and he knew that was the way to fight. “You’ve got to fix this because if you don’t, I’m not wasting my time.” He understood that and appreciated my honesty.
“My brother Steve [the retired world champion] he comes to Dublin once a week; once every two weeks. Steve will come. “This is what you have to do.” Alen saw the level of coaching he was getting from me, but also from my brother, and he listened. He showed that in his last fight with Robinson – Robinson has to have the best chin in boxing, and the worst corner.
“There was a spark between us, [post-Robinson] He went back to Croatia for two weeks and then straight to Dublin. Before the fight was announced, he came back to Dublin and we worked together – he lives in Dublin. He has the best sparring; we have a game plan. It’s easier now. He knows me.”
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