Boxing May 07, 2026

Richard Riakporhe: 'You can see in my aura I’m very serious about doing real damage in the heavyweight division'

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Richard Riakporhe: 'You can see in my aura I’m very serious about doing real damage in the heavyweight division'

Richard Riakporhe will push for a world title shot at heavyweight.

The Londoner, a former cruiserweight world title challenger, became the British heavyweight champion with a crunching stoppage victory over Jeamie TKV on Tyson Fury's undercard at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Riakporhe considers that a warning shot to the rest of the weight class.

"I think that's what makes me more exciting as an addition to the heavyweight division," Riakporhe told Your Site.

"They want to see knockouts. Let's be real. Let's be honest. They want to see exciting knockouts, powerful punches being thrown, where you want to come and take your time, spend your money to visit a stadium and see a real fighter throw shots and is game.

"You can see in my aura and just in my body language, I'm very serious about doing real damage in this division."

The British title in the heavyweight division has often launched fighters into world level competition. That's where Riakporhe's ambitions extend.

"I want a title fight," he said. "I'm really interested to see who wins with Daniel Dubois and [WBO champion Fabio] Wardley. Everybody's waiting to see what's going on with [Oleksandr] Usyk. I want one of them titles.

"I feel like now there's a new crop of fighters coming through and we're just waiting for our chance. It's risky for them well established guys to fight us. We're dangerous, we're hungry, anything can happen. I don't think it's smart. So give up the belts so we can fight!"

There isn't a clear path necessarily for him to go straight into a championship fight, but he hopes to get the chance.

"I'm just navigating the seas for opportunities," he said. "The landscape is always changing. The only thing I can do is be ready.

"Every single day now is adding towards me becoming champion," he continued. "I know what it takes. I've been in the game for a while and I've seen many people come to the gym, I've seen people be at the top and I've seen them go. I've seen it all.

"That's why I just sit down and I do my thing and I know sooner or later you're going to see me at the top because I know exactly what's going on and I understand the system.

"We're trying to push towards a world title fight."

Tags:

boxing news

Share this article

Related Posts

Caroline Dubois to watch Stephanie Han vs Holly Holm from ringside as she eyes next opponent

Caroline Dubois to watch Stephanie Han vs Holly Holm from ringside as she eyes next opponent

Caroline Dubois will be ringside next to Jake Paul for Stephanie Han's rematch with Holly Holm this weekend and could fight the winner next, MVP chief...

Rico Verhoeven insists he has the armoury to hurt Oleksandr Usyk again after contentious stoppage in heavyweight showdown

Rico Verhoeven insists he has the armoury to hurt Oleksandr Usyk again after contentious stoppage in heavyweight showdown

Rico Verhoeven insists he has plenty of tools in his armoury to surprise Oleksandr Usyk a second time.Verhoeven came close to taking the unified world...

Cherneka Johnson faces Dina Thorslund in undisputed world title clash in Orlando on August 8,  live on Sky Sports

Cherneka Johnson faces Dina Thorslund in undisputed world title clash in Orlando on August 8, live on Sky Sports

Cherneka Johnson defends her undisputed bantamweight world titles against Dina Thorslund in Florida, live on Your Site.Australian Johnson will face De...

Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki: Heavyweight Olympian Ivan Dychko returns as Zuffa Boxing announce full bill

Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki: Heavyweight Olympian Ivan Dychko returns as Zuffa Boxing announce full bill

Zuffa Boxing have confirmed the full card for their first UK show which will be headlined by Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki in Bournemouth on Satu...

Cherneka Johnson faces Dina Thorslund in undisputed world title clash in Orlando on August 8,  live on Sky Sports

Cherneka Johnson faces Dina Thorslund in undisputed world title clash in Orlando on August 8, live on Sky Sports

Cherneka Johnson defends her undisputed bantamweight world titles against Dina Thorslund in Florida, live on Your Site.Australian Johnson will face De...

Conor Benn's world title fight against Ryan Garcia close to being finalised, says trainer Tony Sims

Conor Benn's world title fight against Ryan Garcia close to being finalised, says trainer Tony Sims

Conor Benn’s world title fight against Ryan Garcia is edging closer to being finalised, says the British contender's trainer Tony Sims.Garcia announce...