Derek Chisora is not interested in giving Moses Itauma a gentle return to the ring. He wants him in against Richard Riakporhe, an opponent who carries legitimate power for a first bout back following the Filip Hrgovic loss.
When asked about Itauma’s ideal January foe, Chisora gave Frazer Clarke a nod before committing fully to Riakporhe. Neither fighter looks like someone who will fall over at the first sign of pressure.
“He should fight Richard Riakporhe,” Chisora told reporters.
It is a demanding route for a young heavyweight dealing with his first setback. Itauma has openly voiced his frustration about the Hrgovic defeat, admitting that watching the tape still bothers him. Stepping right in with a proven puncher forces him to handle those lingering doubts under real physical threat.
Still, the logic holds up. Blasting out an overmatched opponent puts a win on the record, but it does nothing to answer what went wrong against Hrgovic. Itauma needs to prove he can stay calm whenever a bout gets messy.
Riakporhe brings enough power to penalize any slip in concentration. Booking him would signal that Itauma’s corner trusts him in a live contest instead of padding his record with soft touches.
Chisora did draw a hard line, though. The moment Agit Kabayel came up, his reaction was instant.
“Kabayel is going to smoke that guy.”
That comment outlines his thinking. Chisora sees value in testing Itauma on the domestic scene, but considers Kabayel a step too far right now.
He still regards Itauma as a future frontrunner once the current heavyweight veterans step aside. Even so, his matchmaking advice insists the rebuild starts against a live threat. Riakporhe ensures there is real risk from the opening bell.
That stretcher ride against Hrgovic changes everything about how Frank Warren has to handle Itauma. Chisora talks like Itauma just dropped a close points decision or ran out of gas, completely glossing over the brutality of that finish. Hrgovic did not just outwork him. He clubbed him into the canvas with heavy, concussive right hands that left Itauma motionless.
A beating like that leaves permanent marks on a young heavyweight. When a fighter leaves the arena strapped to a board, you cannot assume his punch resistance is intact until he takes another solid shot on the chin.
Putting him straight in with Riakporhe, an explosive, natural puncher who swings with bad intentions, could wreck whatever confidence Itauma has managed to salvage. If Riakporhe catches him clean with ten-ounce gloves early, Itauma might fold completely, destroying Queensberry’s biggest heavyweight investment before he even turns twenty-two.
Warren is caught in an awkward promotional bind. Match Itauma too soft against journeymen who roll over inside two rounds, and he learns nothing about pacing, surviving rough patches, or taking incoming fire. Put him in a genuine dogfight against someone like Riakporhe, and you risk a second straight knockout loss that turns him into damaged goods.
The middle ground is where they have to go. Queensberry cannot afford to follow Chisora’s advice and roll the dice on a domestic slugger just to appease fans. Itauma needs durable survivors who will make him work eight or ten rounds without possessing the raw dynamite to put his lights out.
