Richard Riakporhe v Fabio Turchi 11/6/22

Richard Riakporhe is set to face the challenge of Fabio Turchi on Saturday 11th June 2022 at Wembley Arena in London.

The fight will take place over 12 rounds in the Cruiserweight division, which means the weight limit will be 200 pounds (14.3 stone or 90.7 KG).

Also, on the undercard will be Germaine Brown's and Zak Chelli's contest and Chris Kongo's and Sebastian Formella's bout.

Richard Riakporhe steps into the ring with an undefeated record of 14 wins, zero loses and 0 draws, 10 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Fabio Turchi will make his way to the ring with a record of 20 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 14 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggest Riakporhe has a slight advantage in power over Turchi, with a 71% knock out percentage over Turchi's 70%.

Richard Riakporhe is the older man by 4 years, at 32 years old.

Riakporhe has a height advantage of 3 inches over Turchi. This also extends to a 7-inch reach advantage.

Both Richard Riakporhe & Fabio Turchi fight out of an orthodox stance.

Riakporhe is the less experienced professional fighter, having had 7 less fights, and made his debut in 2016, 9 months later than Turchi, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He has fought 30 less professional rounds, 69 to Turchi's 99.

Richard Riakporhe goes into the fight ranked number 7 by the WBC, 11 by the WBO, 12 by the IBF and 7 by the RING at cruiserweight.

Fabio Turchi is currently ranked number 11 by the IBF in the 200lb division.

Riakporhe remains undefeated as a professional, stopping 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight, he won against Deion Jumah on 26th March 2022 by knockout in the 8th round at Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had won against Olanrewaju Durodola on 20th November 2021 by technical knockout in the 5th round at Wembley Arena, London.

Going into that contest, he had beat Krzysztof Twardowski on 2nd October 2021 by points in the 8th round at Wembley Arena, London.

Before that, he had defeated Jack Massey on 19th December 2019 by unanimous decision in their BBBOC British Cruiserweight championship fight at York Hall, London.

He had won against Chris Billam-Smith on 20th July 2019 by split decision in their 10 round contest at O2 Arena, London.

Turchi has beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight, he defeated Dylan Bregeon on 16th April 2021 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Allianz Cloud, Lombardia, Italy.

Previous to that, he had defeated Nikolajs Grisunins on 23rd October 2020 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Allianz Cloud, Lombardia.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Tommy McCarthy on 11th October 2019 by split decision in their 12 round contest at PalaTrento, Trentino-Alto Adige.

Before that, he had beat Sami Enbom on 26th April 2019 by knockout in the 1st round at Tuscany Hall, Toscana.

He had won against Tony Conquest on 30th November 2018 by knockout in the 7th round at Teatro Obi Hall, Toscana.

In terms of recent activity, Richard Riakporhe has been fighting more than Fabio Turchi.

Richard Riakporhe last fought 2 months and 14 days ago, while Fabio Turchi's last outing was 1 year, 1 month and 24 days ago.

Riakporhe's last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 20 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 6 months and 30 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 43 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 8.6 rounds on average.

Turchi's last 5 fights have come over a period of 3 years, 6 months and 10 days, meaning he has been fighting on average every 8 months and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 42 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 8.4 rounds on average.

The fighters are expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM BST at Wembley Arena, London, United Kingdom, which is 5:00 PM EST or 2:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America.

Riakporhe vs Turchi will be broadcast on Sky Sports Action in the UK.

In the UK you can stream Riakporhe vs Turchi via NowTV. They allow you to stream Sky Sports boxing cards via their app, based on a 24 hour, weekly or monthly passes. You’ll also get access to 11 Sky Sports Channels during your pass period. They also do a monthly smartphone only pass for £5.99, which is great if you need to catch Riakporhe vs Turchi on the move.

24 hours of NowTV is £8.99, 1 week of NowTV is £14.99, 1 month of NowTV is 33.99 and 1 month (mobile only) costs £5.99.

Existing or new Sky Sports subscribers can stream Riakporhe vs Turchi, and all Sky boxing cards, via the Sky Go App. This is free is you’re already a Sky Sports TV customer. It’s available for Apple, Android, Firestick, Roku and games consoles.

https://box.live/fights/riakporhe-vs-turchi/

Aged 15, Richard Riakporhe nearly lost his life - stabbed in a brutal, horrific, unprovoked attack. Seventeen years later he could soon be fighting for a world title.

Unbeaten cruiserweight Riakporhe takes on Italian Fabio Turchi at Wembley Arena on Saturday in an IBF eliminator, with a victory taking him closer to his dream of becoming a unified world champion.

"I definitely feel I'm here for a reason and it's a blessing to be here," the Londoner told BBC Sport.

In 2005, Riakporhe, along with two others, was stabbed outside a club after someone tried to steal their phones. He needed emergency surgery because of internal bleeding and was in hospital for five days.

"I was very close to dying - the stabbing was close to my heart and close to severing an artery," he said. "Doctors said I was lucky to be alive. I was so young, it was hard to comprehend the seriousness of it."

The incident left a thick scar in the centre of his chest, but also a fierce determination to help educate youngsters and show them a different way forward.

"Growing up in south east London I got myself into tonnes of trouble and I reached a point where I had to change," said Riakporhe.

"I've seen on social media youngsters that have died, been stabbed or shot and it's so sad and such a waste of life."

Riakporhe, now 32, believes boxing transformed his life, before he earned a marketing, communications and advertising degree in 2015, and turned professional a year later.

Since 2013 he has attended more than 200 school events where he describes his story and tries to inspire teenagers and keep them from repeating his mistakes.

"A lot of youngsters don't have a purpose in life, that's why it's easy to go in wrong circles," said Riakporhe. "I was one of those youngsters - I was lost, I had no positive role models to guide me.

"If I can help I can walk with my head high and say I did what I could to help my community.

"I get messages from parents which say 'I don't know what you said to my child but he's really motivated, has changed and showing some positive attitudes and I want to thank you'.

"One child was on the wrong path and his teachers told me he had completely transformed his life and I was a determining factor.

"It's so humbling to hear this. If I can help one person I'm happy. It's one thing chasing goals but it's another being able to impact a community in such a positive way."

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cp...driakporhe.jpg

Riakporhe has regularly sparred with British heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua, an experience described as "not for the faint-hearted" but one in which he "held his own".

A move to heavyweight could be in Riakporhe's future, but a world title at cruiserweight is the target this year or early 2023.

He will need to beat 28-year-old Turchi, who has won 20 out of 21 fights, with title holders Mairis Briedis (IBF), Ilunga Makabu (WBC), Arsen Goulamirian (WBA) and fellow Briton Lawrence Okolie (WBO) potential opponents.

"The preparations have been amazing. I'm in great shape and very confident I'm going to get the victory," said Riakporhe.

"Turchi's a rough, rugged type of opponent and has a similar style to Mike Tyson as he likes to take risks, and I like to take risks. He's the perfect opponent. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a showreel knockout."

Riakporhe, at 6ft 5in, has devastating power in the ring, but also wants to win a world title to become an even more powerful voice out of it.

He said: "It will be great for people with backgrounds like mine, a lot of people that don't have hope, have no ambition and don't believe things can change.

"When I win that world title I will be a reference to these young adults that things are possible."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/61693809

Turchi has been on dazn quite a lot on their Italian cards, he's a bit of a limited donkey so it's an easy win for the Englishman.

Riakporhe started slow and did little in the first round but gave it to him.

Riakporhe stops Turchi in the 2nd round with a left hook to the body. That was a surprising ending to the fight!.

Did not see that coming.