Tonight at Wembley, unbeaten cruiserweight contender Richard Riakporhe scored a good, solid eight round decision win over a very durable Polish fighter in Krzysztof Twardowski. Riakporhe of London was having his first fight since December of 2019 and tonight’s fight proved to be a good rust-removing exercise. The 6’5” operator who says he is a dangerous fighter to the extent that his British rivals scarcely mention his name, won by a score of 79-72 on the referee’s sole scoring card.
Riakporhe is now 12-0(8). Twardowski, who sure came to fight and managed to bloody Riakporhe’s nose, falls to 9-3(6), he has never been stopped.
Riakporhe, who has been earning a reputation as a big puncher, didn’t manage to get the KO or stoppage tonight but he did knock Twardowksi down in the eighth and final round, his big right hand doing the job. But the visiting fighter has some tough chin and he had previously taken everything Riakporhe managed to get home with during the entertaining battle.
Some observers might actually have felt the fight was a little closer than 79-72, as Twardowski had his moments, often being able to drive Riakporhe back and into the ropes. That said, Riakporhe was almost always in control, although he did take some shots. Tonight’s winner said post-fight how he will be back in the gym next week, working on any mistakes he did make in his first fight back in almost two full years.
Riakporhe is already 31 years of age, so on paper, he doesn’t exactly have all the time in the world to make his move to big things. But there is no doubting Riakporhe’s talent and of course his punching power. As for Twardowski, he can be expected to give any upcoming cruiserweight a testing time of things, this due in large part to that reliable chin he has.
How far can Riakporhe go? It could prove to be a whole lot of fun finding out. Look for Riakporhe to be back in action soon.