Boxing Fight: Richard Riakporhe will fight for the world title if he defeats Fabio Turchi

Posted at: May 27, 2022

Boxing Fight: According to BOXXER CEO Ben-Shalom, Richard Riakporhe is a win over Fabio Turchi away from a world title shot and has WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu on his radar.

The Midnight Train will defend his 14-0 record and title hopes at Wembley Arena next month when he takes on Turchi of Italy.

It comes after another display of the Brit’s lethal power when he halted Deion Jumah in the eighth round of their March bout with a vicious body shot.

Turchi, meanwhile, comes in at 20-1 after winning three straight since losing by points to Tommy McCarthy of the United Kingdom in October 2019.

“We’re very close [to a world title]. We promised him, he was the first fighter to join, that ‘we’re going to get you that world title’,” Shalom told Sky Sports.

“He’s stepped up every time, he did really well against Deion Jumah.

“Now he’s fighting Turchi who will look to nullify the power we know Richard fights with, it’s going to be an intriguing fight. If he comes through that a world title fight will 100 per cent be next.

“There are three options for him. We like the Makabu fight, we think that’s a perfect fight for Richard, a lot of other cruiserweights do as well.

“We think he’s ready, he’s 32 years old now, he’s going to be taking on Turchi. If he comes through that then we want to see that.

“Then we’ll hopefully have two cruiserweight world champions [alongside Lawrence Okolie] in this country and it’s a great time for the cruiserweight division.”

Makabu has a 29-2 record after retaining his title with a split decision win against Thabiso Mchunu in January of this year, with his most recent loss being in March 2016 via third-round knockout to Tony Bellew.

According to Sky Sports, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, the 34-year-old is “in the process of finalising a voluntary defence.”

“We have ordered Noel [Gevor] Mikaelyan to fight Mchunu, who had a split decision loss to Makabu, as a final elimination,” said Sulaiman.

“At this moment we’re waiting for Makabu to come back to us.”

Riakporhe has made no secret of his desire to arrange a world title match at Selhurt Park, where his beloved Crystal Palace is based.

While this is still subject to permission and contingent on a victory over Turchi, Shalom is optimistic about bringing Makabu to the UK.

“We’re speaking to Don King’s team at the moment, he’s obviously involved with Makabu, we’ve got a good relationship, he’s helped us on a few things,” said Shalom.

“I believe he is yearning to travel to the United Kingdom and participate in a fight night. It’s actually realistic, in my opinion.

“Richard is unable to take his gaze away from the ball. Fabio Turchi is a seasoned operator who will see this as his time to make a comeback, over a year after Tommy McCarthy, and he will have to be on his best.

“He’s never faced a style like Turchi before.”

For boxing fight, boxing championship, boxing live score, boxing tournament, boxing ring, boxing match, boxing live update, latest boxing news and other boxing news follow livematchupdatesnews.com.

Priyanka Suriyal

I am a sports reporter and broadcaster, because of my skills as a writer. My writing has been praised by many and has helped me to establish a career in this field.