Undefeated British cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe continues his campaign towards world honours on Saturday night with a Wembley Arena showdown against Italian Fabio Turchi.
Riakporhe (14-0, 10 KOs) has always possessed vast potential, but his career stalled in 2019 due to injury and management issues after he beat Jack Massey to become British champion and he was subsequently absent from the ring for nearly two years.
However, the south Londoner inked a promotional deal with Sky Sports and Boxxer last autumn and has since succeeded in resurrecting his career in impressive fashion, expertly and sensibly guided by his new promoters. The Turchi fight will be Riakporhe’s fourth contest in nine months, a level of activity that other fighters would be well advised to emulate.
But then Riakporhe has always demonstrated a refreshing willingness to test himself and take on as many of his rivals as possible. The 32-year-old from Walworth has fought and beaten three of Boxing Social’s current British cruiserweight top five – Chris Billam-Smith, Jack Massey and Tommy McCarthy – with only Lawrence Okolie missing from his CV. (By way of contrast, Conor Benn is ranked the number one welter in the UK right now and has fought no one from the British top ten).
Since signing with Boxxer, Riakporhe has also fought a decent level of opposition, including admittedly faded former world title challenger Olanrewaju Durodola and the talented and then undefeated London rival Deion Jumah (now ranked eighth in the UK by Boxing Social). Riakporhe stopped both men, demonstrating his power, improved jab and increasing ability to adapt.
In Turchi (20-1, 14 KOs) he now faces his second successive southpaw – good preparation if a rumoured showdown with WBC title holder Ilunga Makubu can be brokered (Riakporhe is currently seventh in the WBC’s cruiserweight rankings).
When is it?
On Saturday, 11th June, 2022, the fight will take place at The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England. Germain Browne and Zak Chelli will fight on the undercard of Riakporhe vs Fabio Turchi in a super middleweight bout with Browne’s English Super Middleweight Title at stake.
The main card will begin at 7 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. ET, with main event ring walks beginning at 10 p.m. BST / 5 p.m. ET. The fight between Richard Riakporhe vs Fabio Turchi will be a 12-round Cruiserweight Division match with Richard’s undefeated streak at stake.
What has been said so far?
Riakporhe: “This fight is perfect for me because it sets us up for a big world title clash in my next fight, so there’s a lot to fight for”
“We aren’t taking Fabio Turchi lightly, we made sure we covered all areas in training to prepare for this fight so we can go in and deliver what we want to deliver on Saturday night. Every single fight is so important now. This is what I dreamed of doing when I was young, when I first came to boxing. To see it all manifesting just like how I dreamed it is fascinating to see”
“We wanna bring explosive nights, explosive finishes, we wanna show the world how great we are. So we’re going to bring a big knockout on Saturday night”
Turchi: “I’m ready to have a battle on Saturday night. I think this is a very even fight, I have a lot of respect for Richard, so I’m hoping for a great fight. Whether it’s by KO or points, the important thing is to win the fight”
Prediction
As he prepares to face Fabio Turchi in a world title eliminator at Wembley Arena on Saturday, Richard Riakporhe will be hoping for another stoppage victory. In this do-or-die match, experts are backing the undefeated boxer Richard Riakporhe to snatch the win.