| ‘The Body Snatcher’ backs Cruiserweight protege to maintain explosive rise on Saturday |
| Guided by leading Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte, it seems that London Cruiserweight hope Richard Riakporhe is in the right hands when it comes to being steered towards the top of the sport. On Saturday he makes the second defence of his WBA Inter-Continental title, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and DAZN in the US, against fellow undefeated prospect Chris Billam-Smith, who shares an identical record of nine wins from nine fights – eight coming by knockout. A concussive puncher and extremely dangerous early, the Walworth talent is quickly establishing himself as one of the biggest threats in the domestic scene, and ‘The Body Snatcher’ is backing his man to get the job done inside the distance once more this weekend. “Richard is on a good run now and he’s got a lot of confidence behind him,” said Whyte. “The people he’s fighting and beating, I believe his resume is a lot better than Lawrence Okolie’s so far. If he beats Billam-Smith in good fashion, which I believe he will do, then he should be looking to fight the likes of Lawrence Okolie by the end of the year. “Billiam-Smith is a good boxer, he’s undefeated, he’ll be confident, but Richard carries a lot of power, he’s on a roll and I think he can stop Billam-Smith in six or seven rounds. With Richard, it’s all about the people he has around him, and the mindset that those people give him. He’s ready to defeat most of these guys in the Cruiserweight division worldwide.” Riakporhe vs. Billam-Smith is part of a huge night of boxing in the Capital. Main event sees Dillian Whyte (25-1, 18 KOs) risk his number one spot in the WBC against relentless and undefeated Colombian Oscar Rivas (26-0, 18 KOs), Doncaster fan favourite Dave Allen (17-4-2, 14 KOs) tackles Liverpudlian Heavyweight David Price (24-6, 19 KOs) in a must-win domestic showdown, former World title challengers Derek Chisora (30-9, 21 KOs) and Artur Szpilka (22-3, 15 KOs) clash in an explosive Heavyweight match-up, Canning Town’s Charlie Duffield (7-1, 6 KOs) clashes with Lewisham’s Dan Azeez (8-0, 5 KOs) for the vacant Southern Area Light-Heavyweight title, British Cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie (12-0, 9 KOs) returns, Ipswich Heavyweight Fabio Wardley (7-0, 6 KOs) continues his march towards a title and Sheffield amateur star Dalton Smith (1-0) fights for the second time. |
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