Riakporhe title fight '100%' next | 'He has three options'

Richard Riakporhe is a victory over Fabio Turchi away from a world title shot and has WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu in his sights, says BOXXER CEO Ben Shalom. 

The Midnight Train puts his 14-0 record and title aspirations on the line once again next month as he takes on Italy's Turchi at Wembley Arena, live on Sky Sports.

It follows another showcase of the Brit's destructive power as he stopped Deion Jumah with a vicious body shot in the eighth round of their March match-up.

The experienced Turchi meanwhile arrives 20-1 having reeled off three successive wins since his points defeat to Britain's Tommy McCarthy in October 2019.

"We're very close [to a world title]. We promised him, he was the first fighter to join, that 'we're going to get you that world title'," Shalom told Sky Sports.

"He's stepped up every time, he did really well against Deion Jumah.

"Now he's fighting Turchi who will look to nullify the power we know Richard fights with, it's going to be an intriguing fight. If he comes through that a world title fight will 100 per cent be next.

"There are three options for him. We like the Makabu fight, we think that's a perfect fight for Richard, a lot of other cruiserweights do as well.

"We think he's ready, he's 32 years old now, he's going to be taking on Turchi. If he comes through that then we want to see that.

"Then we'll hopefully have two cruiserweight world champions [alongside Lawrence Okolie] in this country and it's a great time for the cruiserweight division."

Makabu currently holds a record of 29-2 after clinching a split decision win over Thabiso Mchunu to retain his title in January this year, with his last defeat coming by way of third-round knockout against Tony Bellew back in March