Riakporhe speaks on previously scheduled fight.
As a cruiserweight, Richard ‘The Midnight Train’ Riakporhe was seen as a potential championship threat. The heavy-handed Londoner has indeed beaten every man he has ever fought, though that comes with an asterisk.
As a 9-0 prospect, Riakporhe beat future WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith, who was also 9-0 at the time. Over the course of the fight, Riakporhe would even score a 10-8 round over the iron-chinned Bournemouth native.
However, it would be Billam-Smith who made the further strides, as he would go on to beat Lawrence Okolie to become world champion.
Riakporhe would rematch Billam-Smith almost five years later, with the WBO strap on the line on this occasion.
The resulting spectacle turned out to be a rather listless performance from Riakporhe, who was convinvingly outboxed on his way to a decision loss.
Since then, Riakporhe has moved up to heavyweight, making his debut by stopping Argentina’s 9-9 Kevin Nicolas Espindola.
However, Riakporhe’s official first foray in the division was originally meant to be Lawrence Okolie, as the two were set to square off in the co-main event to Joe Joyce vs. Dillian Whyte on the 5th of April, 2025.
Okolie would end up pulling out, however, and Riakporhe would also lose his slot on the show, instead making his heavyweight debut a month later against Espindola on the Canelo Álvarez vs. William Scull undercard.
Since then, Riakporhe has run through the undefeated Tommy Welch on the Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn 2 undercard and is currently scheduled to face Jeamie TKV for the British title on the Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov bill.
In an interview with International Boxing News, Riakporhe has now spoken on his upcoming fight and whether the Riakporhe clash could be rescheduled.
“If it’s serious, if there’s a date, ‘This is the money. This is the amount you’re gonna get’, then anything is possible”, said Riakporhe.
“That’s what I’m here for. I’m a prizefighter, you know?”
However, Riakporhe spoke on his frustration regarding Okolie pulling out of their scheduled fight.
“Me, personally, if I pulled out of that fight, I wouldn’t be able to walk to the hood I grew up in.”
“That’s the truth”, Riakporhe stated.
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