Richard Riakporhe


Richard Riakporhe is a professional boxer who held the British cruiserweight title from 2019 to 2020.
IG r_riakporhe

Early life

Born on 5 January 1990 to Nigerian parents, 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. 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.

Professional career

Riakporhe made his professional debut on 6 August 2016, scoring a four-round points decision victory over Jason Jones at the York Hall in London. Following a second win in 2016 – a technical knockout over Aaron Lacy in October – he scored three consecutive TKO victories in 2017; against Istvan Orsos in February; Milan Cechvala in May; and Jiri Svacina in October.
He began 2018 with a TKO victory over Adam Williams in March, followed by a win via corner retirement against Elvis Dube in July. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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, 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. 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. Riakporhe was scheduled to face Jack Massey on 19 December 2019 for the vacant British cruiserweight title. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 115–113, 115–113 and 117–111.
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. A month later, Riakporhe beat Olanrewaju Durodola by a fifth-round technical knockout to capture the vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title.
Riakporhe was booked to face Fabio Turchi on 26 March 2022, in the main event of a BOXXER Fight Night card which was scheduled to take place at the Wembley Arena in London, England. Turchi withdrew from the bout on 9 March, due to injuries sustained in training, and was replaced by Deion Jumah. Riakporhe won the fight by knockout, flooring Jumah with a straight right to the body early in the eighth round. 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 round 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.
Riakporhe faced the former two-time WBO cruiserweight world champion Krzysztof Głowacki on 21 January 2023. He won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout.
On 15 June 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. Riakporhe withdrew from the negotiations on August 8, 2023, shortly before a scheduled purse bid hearing.
Riakporhe challenged WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith at Selhurst Park in London, England, on 15 June 2024, but lost by unanimous decision. The ringside judges scored the contest 116–111, 115–112, 115–112.
On his debut at heavyweight, Riakporhe beat Kevin Nicolas Espindola at Anb Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when his opponent retired at the end of round four.
He beat Tommy Welch by technical knockout in the second round at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on 15 November 2025.

Outside of boxing

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. Riakporhe is a supporter of Crystal Palace.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
20Win19–1Tommy WelchTKO2, 2:4815 Nov 2025Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England
19Win18–1Kevin Nicolas EspindolaRTD4, 3:003 May 2025Anb Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
18Loss17–1Chris Billam-SmithUD1215 Jun 2024Selhurst Park, London, EnglandFor WBO cruiserweight title
17Win17–0Dylan BregeonTKO2, 1:3618 Nov 2023The Halls, Wolverhampton, England
16Win16–0Krzysztof GłowackiTKO4, 2:4321 Jan 2023Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
15Win15–0Fabio TurchiTKO2, 1:5311 Jun 2022The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England
14Win14–0Deion Jumah8, 0:3526 Mar 2022The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England
13Win13–0Olanrewaju DurodolaTKO5, 0:3620 Nov 2021The SSE Arena Wembley, London, EnglandWon vacant WBC Silver cruiserweight title
12Win12–0Krzysztof TwardowskiUD82 Oct 2021The SSE Arena Wembley, London, England
11Win11–0Jack Massey1219 Dec 2019York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant [List of British Boxing Board of Control|British cruiserweight boxing champions|British cruiserweight title]
10Win10–0Chris Billam-Smith1020 Jul 2019The O2 Arena, London, EnglandRetained WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
9Win9–0Tommy McCarthyTKO4, 2:452 Mar 2019East of England Arena, Peterborough, EnglandRetained WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
8Win8–0Sam HydeTKO8, 2:4110 Nov 2018Manchester Arena, Manchester, EnglandWon vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
7Win7–0Elvis Dube2, 3:0028 Jul 2018The O2 Arena, London, England
6Win6–0Adam WilliamsTKO3, 2:3824 Mar 2018The O2 Arena, London, England
5Win5–0Jiri SvacinaTKO2, 0:4614 Oct 2017York Hall, London, England
4Win4–0Milan CechvalaTKO1, 2:1527 May 2017York Hall, London, England
3Win3–0Istvan OrsosTKO1, 2:5418 Feb 2017York Hall, London, England
2Win2–0Aaron Lacy1, 2:141 Oct 2016York Hall, London, England
1Win1–0Jason Jones46 Aug 2016York Hall, London, England