Richard Riakporhe

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Richard Riakporhe
Born (1990-01-05) 5 January 1990 (age 34)
London, England
Other namesThe Midnight Train
Statistics
Weight(s)Cruiserweight
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Reach77 in (196 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights17
Wins17
Wins by KO13

Richard Riakporhe (born 5 January 1990) is a professional boxer who held the British cruiserweight title from 2019 to 2020.

Early life[edit]

Born on 5 January 1990 to Nigerian parents and raised, Richard Riakporhe grew up on the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, London. At the age of 15, he was stabbed in the chest outside a house party, requiring emergency surgery to drain his lungs of blood. Riakporhe had a late start to boxing; first stepping into a gym, the Lynn ABC, at the age of 19.[2] Alongside boxing as an amateur he continued in pursuit of further education, studying at college and eventually moving on to Kingston University in south west London, earning a degree in marketing communications and advertising in 2015.[3]

Professional career[edit]

Riakporhe made his professional debut on 6 August 2016, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS) victory over Jason Jones at the York Hall in London.[4] Following a second win in 2016 – a technical knockout (TKO) over Aaron Lacy in October[5] – he scored three consecutive TKO victories in 2017; against Istvan Orsos in February;[6] Milan Cechvala in May;[7] and Jiri Svacina in October.[8]

He began 2018 with a TKO victory over Adam Williams in March,[9] followed by a win via corner retirement (RTD) against Elvis Dube in July.[10] Riakporhe's final fight of 2018 was against Sam Hyde on 10 November at the Manchester Arena, with the vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title on the line. Riakporhe won via eighth-round TKO after Hyde's trainer, Joe Gallagher, threw in the towel after Hyde sustained an eye injury from a right hook.[11] Riakporhe was behind on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with two judges scoring the bout 68–65 while the third scored it 67–66.[12] The fight was televised live on Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom and streamed through DAZN in the United States as part of the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew.[13]

The first defence of his WBA title came on 2 March 2019 against Tommy McCarthy at the East of England Arena in Peterborough. Riakporhe dropped his opponent twice en route to a fourth-round TKO.[14] He defended the title for a second time against Chris Billam-Smith on 20 July at The O2 Arena, London. Riakporhe won by split decision (SD), with two judges scoring the bout in favour of Riakporhe at 97–92 and 95–94, while the third scored it to Smith at 96–93.[15] The fight was televised live on Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom and streamed through DAZN in the United States as part of the undercard for Dillian Whyte vs. Óscar Rivas.[16] Riakporhe was scheduled to face Jack Massey on 19 December 2019 for the vacant British cruiserweight title.[17] He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 117-111.[18]

Riakporhe returned from a near two-year layoff to face Krzysztof Twardowski on 2 October 2021 in his first non-title bout since 28 July 2018. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 79-72.[19] A month later, Riakporhe beat Olanrewaju Durodola by a fifth-round technical knockout to capture the vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title.[20]

Riakporhe was booked to face Fabio Turchi on 26 March 2022, in the main event of a BOXXER Fight Night card which will take place at the Wembley Arena in London, England.[21] Turchi withdrew from the bout on 9 March, due to injuries sustained in training, and was replaced by Deion Jumah.[22] He won the fight by knockout, flooring Jumah with a right straight to the body early in the eight round.[23] Riakporhe faced Turchi on the 11 June 2022, once again as the main event of a BOXXER card. Riakporhe extended his unbeaten record again in an IBF world title eliminator, flooring Turchi in the second with a body shot. Turchi rose to his feet after the eight count, but, with Turchi being visibly hurt, his corner threw in the towel. Referee Steve Gray stopped the fight 1:53 into the round.[24]

Riakporhe faced the former two-time WBO cruiserweight world champion Krzysztof Głowacki on 21 January 2023 (on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr. vs Liam Smith).[25] He won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout.[26]

On June 15, 2023, the IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia was ordered to make a mandatory title defense against Riakporhe. He entered into negotiations with Opetaia in lieu of Mateusz Masternak, who withdrew from a scheduled purse bid with the Australian the day before.[27] Riakporhe withdrew from the negotiations on August 8, 2023, shortly before a scheduled purse bid hearing.[28]

Riakporhe is scheduled to challenge Chris Billam-Smith for his WBO cruiserweight title at Selhurst Park in London, England on June 15, 2024. [29]

Outside of boxing[edit]

Drawing from his experiences of a troubled upbringing, Riakporhe set up a company, Richard Riakporhe Foundation, which focuses on talking to schoolchildren on positive thinking and the dangers of knife crime.[2][30] Riakporhe is a supporter of Crystal Palace.[31]

Professional boxing record[edit]

17 fights 17 wins 0 losses
By knockout 13 0
By decision 4 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
17 Win 17–0 Dylan Bregeon TKO 2 (8), 1:36 18 Nov 2023 The Halls, Wolverhampton, England
16 Win 16–0 Krzysztof Głowacki TKO 4 (12), 2:43 21 Jan 2023 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
15 Win 15–0 Fabio Turchi TKO 2 (12), 1:53 11 Jun 2022 The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England
14 Win 14–0 Deion Jumah KO 8 (12), 0:35 26 Mar 2022 The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England
13 Win 13–0 Olanrewaju Durodola TKO 5 (10), 0:36 20 Nov 2021 The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England Won vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title
12 Win 12–0 Krzysztof Twardowski UD 8 2 Oct 2021 The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England
11 Win 11–0 Jack Massey UD 12 19 Dec 2019 York Hall, London, England Won vacant British cruiserweight title
10 Win 10–0 Chris Billam-Smith SD 10 20 Jul 2019 The O2 Arena, London, England Retained WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
9 Win 9–0 Tommy McCarthy TKO 4 (10), 2:45 2 Mar 2019 East of England Arena, Peterborough, England Retained WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
8 Win 8–0 Sam Hyde TKO 8 (10), 2:41 10 Nov 2018 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
7 Win 7–0 Elvis Dube RTD 2 (4), 3:00 28 Jul 2018 The O2 Arena, London, England
6 Win 6–0 Adam Williams TKO 3 (4), 2:38 24 Mar 2018 The O2 Arena, London, England
5 Win 5–0 Jiri Svacina TKO 2 (6), 0:46 14 Oct 2017 York Hall, London, England
4 Win 4–0 Milan Cechvala TKO 1 (4), 2:15 27 May 2017 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Istvan Orsos TKO 1 (4), 2:54 18 Feb 2017 York Hall, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Aaron Lacy TKO 1 (4), 2:14 1 Oct 2016 York Hall, London, England
1 Win 1–0 Jason Jones PTS 4 6 Aug 2016 York Hall, London, England

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Boxing record for Richard Riakporhe". BoxRec.
  2. ^ a b Williams, Luke (25 January 2017). "Richard Riakporhe: Man on a mission". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. ^ McManus, Oliver (16 February 2018). "Boxing Insider Interview with Richard Riakporhe". BoxingInsider.com. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  4. ^ "BoxRec: Richard Riakporhe vs. Jason Jones". boxrec.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  5. ^ Songalia, Ryan (2 October 2016). "John O'Donnell outpoints Tommy Tear". The Ring. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. ^ Williams, Luke (23 February 2017). "Frontline diary: Thrills and spills at York Hall". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  7. ^ "BoxRec: Richard Riakporhe vs. Milan Cechvala". boxrec.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  8. ^ "BoxRec: Richard Riakporhe vs. Jiri Svacina". boxrec.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  9. ^ Williamson, Chris (24 March 2018). "Dillian Whyte vs. Lucas Browne - LIVE Results From O2 Arena". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  10. ^ "BoxRec: Richard Riakporhe vs. Elvis Dube". boxrec.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  11. ^ Horan, Matt (11 November 2018). "Usyk vs Bellew: Sam Hyde suffers bad injury in Richard Riakporhe loss". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  12. ^ "BoxRec: Richard Riakporhe vs. Sam Hyde". boxrec.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  13. ^ Foster, Elliot (10 November 2018). "Richard Riakporhe Beats Sam Hyde To Claim WBA Regional". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  14. ^ Damerell, Richard (3 March 2019). "Richard Riakporhe halted Tommy McCarthy in fourth round on JD NXTGEN bill in Peterborough". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  15. ^ Gilbert, Peter (21 July 2019). "Whyte vs Rivas: Richard Riakpore defeats Chris Billam Smith on points". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  16. ^ Purewal, Andy (18 July 2019). "Richard Riakporhe: "I'm going to beat Chris Billam-Smith in every department!"". Boxing Social. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  17. ^ Christ, Scott (18 December 2019). "Richard Riakporhe and Jack Massey ready for British title fight". badlefthook.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  18. ^ Flexen, Danny. "Richard Riakporhe vs Jack Massey report: becomes British champion, Craig Richards draws". secondsout.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  19. ^ Damerell, Richard. "Richard Riakporhe floors Krzysztof Twardowski in the final round of a points victory". skysports.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  20. ^ Dielhenn, James. "Richard Riakporhe storms past Olanrewaju Durodola in a statement KO victory to set up WBC cruiserweight title chance". skysports.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  21. ^ Random Hits (16 February 2022). "Richard Riakporhe vs. Fabio Turchi on March 26 in London". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  22. ^ Random Hits (9 March 2022). "Riakporhe vs. Jumah Clash Set After Turchi, Lawal Withdraw With Injuries". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  23. ^ Boxingscene Staff (26 March 2022). "Richard Riakporhe Blasts Out Jumah in Eight: Dubois, Azeez Get KO Wins". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Riakporhe wins IBF cruiserweight eliminator". BBC Sport. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  25. ^ Random Hits (21 December 2022). "Jack Massey vs. Joseph Parker, Riakporhe vs. Glowacki Added To Eubank-Smith". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  26. ^ Christ, Scott (21 January 2023). "Eubank Jr vs Smith full fight video highlights and results: Riakporhe stops Glowacki, Essuman and Parker win". badlefthook.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  27. ^ Dennen, John (15 June 2023). "Richard Riakporhe mandated for IBF cruiserweight world title shot against Jai Opetaia next". skysports.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  28. ^ Donovan, Jake (8 August 2023). "Richard Riakporhe Pulled From Ordered IBF Title Fight Versus Jai Opetaia, Purse Bid Canceled". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  29. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (24 April 2024). "Chris Billam-Smith faces old rival Richard Riakporhe in London in June". FIGHTMAG.
  30. ^ O'Neill, Lottie (13 April 2019). "Inside the world of knife crime that got me and my brother stabbed". essexlive. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  31. ^ |url=https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/programme/how-palace-fan-richard-riakporhe-overcame-stabbing-to-become-cruiserweight-champion-boxer/2020-09-22/ |title=How Palace fan Richard Riakporhe overcame stabbing to become cruiserweight champion boxer.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Regional boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Ryad Merhy 		WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight champion
10 November 2018 – present 		Incumbent
Vacant
Title last held by
Lawrence Okolie 		British cruiserweight champion
19 December 2019 – September 2020
Vacated 		Vacant
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