COMPARED TO MY LIFE, BOXING IS A WALK IN THE PARK

Riakporhe has been stabbed and feared for his life and, after acting on stage and screen, he plans to be a superstar in the boxing ring

MCKENNA

RICHARD RIAKPORHE has been stabbed, feared for his life, but now speaks at schools to inspire kids, is a university graduate, has played a role in a theatre show and was Samuel L Jackson’s body double.

Oh, and he’s also a boxer. A cruiserweight with big plans and aiming to do it in honour of his parents who got him on the right path.

The 31-year-old returns to the ring this weekend when he takes on Krzysztof Twardowski on Chris Eubank Jnr’s undercard at Wembley Arena.

It is his first fight in almost two years after the pandemic and management issues halted his career. But dealing with that was easy compared to his life before boxing.

“When you take a look at my life and see what I had to overcome, this is a walk in the park,” he said.

“I remember fighting for my life and being in situations where I actually thought there was no way out – but I got through it and look where I am now.”

Riakporhe was stabbed at the age of 15 in a row over a phone and needed lifesaving surgery.

He has endured time in police custody and feared he would be killed at any moment growing up in Walworth, south east London. “Things happened every day to people,” he said. “If you looked a certain way or dressed in a certain way, you could be done.”

Boxing was his path out of trouble like it is for so many, but it was also his parents, Martha and Vincent, who got through to him.

“My parents did everything they could to get me in the right direction, but the role models that appeared to me in that environment had a lot of materialistic things and I wanted those things,” he explained.

“It was only when I got older that my mum and dad were the idols I was looking for. You see the reflection of them in me when I box.

“This is my way of paying them back with my success.

I didn’t turn out to be the discoloured egg, I came out pretty clean.”

Riakporhe also got serious at school and has a degree in marketing and advertising.

But, as well as boxing, he plans to make it big in Hollywood and was a model at London Fashion Week.

“I was involved in a theatre show called Beautiful Girls and it premiered at the Royal Festival Hall and I was acting alongside professional actors,” he said.

“Theatre is really hard, you can make a mistake and everyone will notice.

“I have been on Hollywood sets, I was on Tarzan, working as Samuel L Jackson’s body double in some scenes and they can just cut stuff. But both are nerve-racking – probably harder than boxing.”

Riakporhe is certainly an inspiration and speaks at schools to show troubled children that there are other paths in life.

“I needed to speak to that person when I was a kid,” he said.

For now, the focus is on boxing and his return to the ring this weekend. He is 11-0 as a pro and wants to become a unified cruiserweight champion, with WBO title holder Lawrence Okolie one potential future foe.

“If you are betting man, then you should make a bet that I will be a superstar in a very short space of time,” added Riakporhe.