{"id":522564,"date":"2026-04-10T02:32:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/522564\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T02:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:32:07","slug":"richard-riakporhe-prays-for-jeamie-tkv-ahead-of-british-title-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/522564\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Riakporhe prays for Jeamie TKV ahead of British title fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since moving up to heavyweight, Richard Riakporhe<\/a> has become acutely aware of the pronounced power he now possesses in each fist.<\/p>\n

He was, of course, a destructive puncher at cruiserweight, only now there is an extra 30-odd pounds that can be utilised to generate the force required for a dramatic finish.<\/p>\n

Combining that with his natural speed, too, Riakporhe has become almost fearful of the devastating effects his punches might have on future opponents.<\/p>\n

In fact, before steamrolling Tommy Welch in his last outing, \u2018The Midnight Train\u2019 had envisioned the outcome being far worse than just a second-round stoppage.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Boxing News, he reflected on his emphatic performance last November while, at the same time, expressing concern for his opponents\u2019 safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely feeling way more powerful. When you have more weight on you, and you\u2019re turning into the shots, it\u2019s going to be way more impactful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why, when I\u2019m preparing for a fight, I always pray for my opponents. I don\u2019t want to get myself in a situation where serious damage is done.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore my last fight, I had a dream that I did some serious damage to my opponent, so I was happy that he left the ring in one piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I do in the gym; I know what I\u2019m capable of. That\u2019s why you see me calm and collected throughout these processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sticking with this routine, the next person for whom Riakporhe must say a prayer is Jeamie TKV, who he will face on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov<\/a> on April 11.<\/p>\n

But while acknowledging his concussive knockout power, the Londoner ultimately believes his speed represents a key advantage over heavyweights such as TKV.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Speed is] all I really focus on. The other day I was sparring Pat Brown, who\u2019s a super-fast cruiserweight, so to be able to mix it with him gives me more and more confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always tell people that it\u2019s good to have power, but power is overrated. Speed and timing is everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re fighting someone with speed, and you can\u2019t do anything to counter them or respond, it almost feels like you\u2019re disabled; it\u2019s like you\u2019re handicapped.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since moving up to Scotland, where he trains with head coach Billy Nelson, Riakporhe has noticed several differences to his previous set-up in Loughborough.<\/p>\n

More specifically, there is less of an emphasis on video analysis and more of an old-school feel to his camps, encouraging him to make adjustments on the fly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you understand how to adjust, you can deal with most things. For me, it\u2019s not complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this day and age, a lot of people are using video analysts and are waiting [for their opponent to throw] one type of shot, so they can react and respond to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what if they\u2019re waiting for the shot and the shot never comes? That\u2019s why I like the old-school kind of vibe: just going in there and dealing with what\u2019s in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Standing in front of Riakporhe at London\u2019s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be TKV<\/a>, who claimed his British title with a split decision victory over Frazer Clarke in November.<\/p>\n

Having previously held the Lonsdale Belt at 200lbs, Riakporhe looks forward to replicating his success in the land of the giants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can add something else to my legacy: becoming a two-weight British champion. That\u2019s something to rant and rave about, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

While TKV represents a strong opponent, Riakporhe equally believes that Clarke, his former stablemate, would have defeated the 32-year-old if not for his apparent lack of top-tier preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like Frazer would have done much better if he didn\u2019t have certain issues in camp, but even though he fought a completely different gameplan [to what he should have], it was still such a close decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I see [TKV] as another opponent in the Riakporhe story. He\u2019s a durable opponent \u2013 someone who shouldn\u2019t be taken lightly \u2013 but it\u2019s about how Riakporhe deals with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

At heavyweight, Riakporhe is just one win away from landing a major opportunity, but must first become a two-weight British champion against TKV this Saturday.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since moving up to heavyweight, Richard Riakporhe has become acutely aware of the pronounced power he now possesses…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-522564","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}