A significant Boxxer-promoted cruiserweight title bout between British fighters Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe is set to occur on Saturday, June 15th. With Billam-Smith set to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight title, his upcoming fight with Riakporhe is set to be one of the most significant matches for British boxing, but will this fight dictate the winner can do more than beat their rivals?
As a promotion, Boxxer is one of the few thoroughly active promotions that has not been involved with the Turki Alalshikh-ran General Entertainment Authority (GEA) which has produced eye catching and competitive bouts between several promotions’ fighters and even helped organize a promotional battle between Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom.
However, Boxxer has not yet managed to be included in Saudi Arabia, with the only representative they have that will fight on a card sponsored by GEA―the August 3rd LA card set to be headlined by Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KO’s) and Israil Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KO’s)―being Martin Bakole (20-1, 15 KO’s) ; a Boxxer heavyweight who has not actually competed on a Boxxer card for approximately two years.
The title bout between Chris Billam-Smith (19-1, 13 KO’s) and Richard Riakporhe (17-0, 13 KO’s) can be a gamechanger in this regard, with the winner―and future holder of the WBO cruiserweight title―in the perfect position to unify on a GEA-sponsored card after June 15th.
Standing in the way of this possibility is Boxxer itself, who has garnered a reputation for pulling fighters out of purse bids at the last moment; which has likely led to their fighters being excluded from events sponsored by Turki Alalshikh; possibly at the behest of rival promotion Matchroom Boxing who has suffered the most from Boxxer’s late withdrawals.
Ben Shalom, founder and owner of Boxxer, now arrives at a stage where he can mend any fractured relationships he has caused through his fiasco of purse bid proceedings; depending on how he will position the winner of Smith vs. Riakporhe.
The significant of Saturday’s bout cannot be further understated; two British rivals who engage in a rematch from half a decade before that saw Riakporhe come out on top against Billiam-Smith by a close split-decision. The winner, will therefore not only be heralded as the best current British cruiserweight, but they will also have the bragging rights for beating their rival.
The aftermath, however, may be even more significant, as there is an opportunity for the winner to not only stamp their legacy onto the British boxing scene, but also the world if they can unify against other champions. Given the cruiserweight division currently houses four different world champions, the Smith-Riakporhe winner can further their legacy into the sport, and potentially have a run on being undisputed.
Turk Alalshikh’s influence in the sport can facilitate this, with the recent re-crowned IBF 200 lbs champion, Jai Opetaia (25-0, 19 KO’s) who hails from New Zealand, having been featured on at least two cards in Saudi Arabia through Matchroom Boxing and considered to be the one of the most feasible opponent for the winner of Smith-Riakporhe to face due to the relationship between Matchroom and the GEA.
Mexican WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez (46-1, 30 KO’s) is similarly an opponent that the Smith-Riakporhe winner could face given his connections to Golden Boy Promotions, which also maintains relationship with Turki Alalshikh. Even Armenian WBC champion Norair Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 KO’s)―also often known as Noel Gevor―can be a potential opponent for Smith-Riakporhe without the influence of Turki Alalshikh being necessary.
The only barrier to this fight is that the WBC cruiserweight champion must still likely face Canadian WBC mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki (20-1, 19 KO’s) at some point after withdrawing [due to an injury] from a scheduled bout that was set to be held last week on June 7th.
While Ben Shalom himself appears open to a unification bout with Opetaia as a potential opponent, it is not certain whether the future winner of Smith-Riakporhe will be as amenable.
“I think Chris [Billam-Smith] will unify if he wins, he’ll want to go into a unification [bout]” Shalom told boxing media outlet October Red, “Richard [Riakporhe] will be thinking about heavyweight already, 100%.“
“He’ll [Riakporhe] want the big fights. I can’t predict with Richard. We’ll have to sit down after.
“Let’s see what happens. I’d like to do the unification. I actually have spoken to [Jai] Opetaia’s manager. We’d be fine. We’d be okay with that, because it’s such a big fight. If it’s Richard, he’s won his world title. If it’s Chris, he’s defended twice and he’d be ready for that [unification fight].“
