Craig Richards explains his reasons for leaving Matchroom

LONDON – Craig Richards was left disappointed by his now-former promoter Matchroom Boxing after they secured a world title final eliminator for fellow light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker.

It was a surprise when it was announced earlier this year that Richards had made a switch to Matchroom’s rival Zuffa Boxing and will face Radivoje Kalajdzic this Saturday in London, England.

Richards had been a main-stay at Matchroom Boxing, fighting for the promotion since his debut in 2015. The Londoner had been on a good run too, stopping Padraig McCrory and Dan Azeez inside the distance in 2025. Richards was told that those victories would earn him a shot at a world championship, but that was not delivered by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom.

“We got to the point that Matchroom couldn’t deliver what was next for me,” Richards told BoxingScene. “We had a conversation about it and basically Zuffa could deliver what I needed. We left Matchroom amicably and joined Zuffa and we’re looking for the next chapter now.

“They said to me that the winner would push on for world titles… I went and got two back-to-back knockouts, which warranted me for the world title. Then that wasn’t able to be delivered.”

Richards claims he had agreed to a final eliminator for the IBF light-heavyweight title against Ireland’s Conor Wallace with Matchroom, but that fight was later handed to their recent signing Ben Whittaker.

“We spoke about a final eliminator and I agreed on that. Conor Wallace was one of the opponents for the IBF final eliminator,” Richards said. “You saw Whittaker got the fight, and there was not much for me to wait around for because if the world title can’t get delivered and the final eliminator couldn’t get delivered, then obviously I have to push on with my career, don’t I?”

The IBF moved Whittaker from fifth to second in their 175 rankings in April following Whittaker’s victory over Braian Nahuel Suarez. In the same timeframe, Richards has remained just outside the top 10.

Richards, who challenged Dmitry Bivol in 2021 under Matchroom’s watch, will now start afresh.

“It is what it is,” he said. “It’s business. At the end of the day, they’ve made the right business moves. They’ve got to make the right moves for themselves, and I’ve just got to make the right moves for myself and push on to keep chasing my goals and aspirations.”