Another Nigerian-born boxer is in the news in England, and the latest name to talk about is that of Richard Riakporhe, who will this Saturday fight for the British heavyweight belt.
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Sports247 gathered that Riakporhe will step into the ring for what will be only his third fight as a heavyweight when he challenges belt holder, Jeamie TKV for the British title.
However, having held his own firmly in the lower rung cruiserweight class, Riakporhe believes he has what it takes to rule in the highly competitive and crowded class of heavies.
He gets the chance to prove himself true to his words when he goes toe-to-toe with TKV on the undercard of Tyson Fury versus Arslanbek Makhmudov this Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Born on January 5th, 1990 to Nigerian parents, Richard Riakporhe grew up on the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, London where, at age 15, he was stabbed in the chest outside a house party and needed emergency surgery to drain his lungs of blood.
Incidentally, he had a late start to boxing and was already 19 before he first stepped into the Lynn ABC gym, where his talent was honed into the quality of a potential champ.
While pursuing boxing as an amateur, Riakporhe still found time to further his education and he eventually gained admission to Kingston University in South-West London, where he got a degree in marketing communications and advertising in 2015.
After losing a terse World Boxing Organisation (WBO) cruiserweight title challenge to Chris Billam-Smith, Riakporhe moved up in weight, following which he got knockout wins over Kevin Nicolas Espindola and Tommy Welch.
He is now aiming to win his first piece of silverware in the heavyweight division and declared that he will surely prove critics by imposing his power to defeat TKV.
“People just don’t know yet – I am a serious player in the heavyweight division. They’re going to see and they’re going to know and the naysayers they’re going to be talking a lot.
“They’re going to be promoting and pushing my name out there: ‘Look be careful of the Midnight Train because that guy is terrifying.’ Watch out,’ Riakporhe emphasised.
