Lawrence Okolie will collide with Richard Riakporhe in a heavyweight double-bill also featuring Joe Joyce vs Dillian Whyte on April 5th.
Former WBO cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie made his heavyweight debut in December last year, stopping 18-1 Hussein Muhamed in the first round. Despite winning his debut, Okolie has admitted he must lose weight to get in better shape.
After losing his WBO cruiserweight crown to Chris Billam-Smith, Okolie made a brief stop-off in the Bridgerweight division, where he blasted Lukasz Rosanski in one round to win the Bridgerweight world title. Now a two-division champion, he has his eyes set on the heavyweight titles next.
Richard Riakporhe, meanwhile, is coming off a loss to Chris Billam-Smith, an opponent he had previously bested and will be facing Okolie in his very first fight at this new weight.
Okolie and Riakporhe have both been vocal about fighting one another for years, and in 2023, words escalated, and the pair came to blows in a public brawl.
Lawrence Okolie and Richard Riakporhe brawl at Creed 3 premiere
In 2023, at the London premiere of Creed 3, an extension of the Rocky franchise, Okolie and Riakporhe were filmed in a heated confrontation, with both men having to be separated by others in attendance.
Riakporhe told Sky that he felt ‘disrespected’ after Okolie entered his space, with Okolie stating that he did walk up to Riakporhe, and told him: “You’ve been calling me out. I’m here in the flesh […] Do you wanna do this or what’s going on?” Okolie says Riakporhe “saw red” and pushed him, sparking the confrontation.
The clash marked the culmination of a history of back-and-forth between the pair, with both men exchanging words live on Sky, with Okolie telling Riakporhe that the version of Krzysztof Glowacki he fought was past his best.
On the live broadcast, Okolie said: “Listen, I want to hear an official callout right now from Richard, if he’s up for it.”
Riakporhe replied, “We’ll make it happen. […] Let’s make it happen this year”. The fight did not end up happening either that year or the year after, but is now set for April 5th this year.
Lawrence Okolie speaks on future opponents ahead of Richard Riakporhe clash
Speaking to Seconds Out, Okolie said: “In the building now, there are about four fighters I said I wanted to fight, negotiations happened, they fell through.”
Okolie maintains that Riakporhe was not his first choice of opponent, with it being previously reported that Okolie would face Luis Ortiz next.
One fighter Okolie has his eyes on is Dillian Whyte, who tops the bill in the heavyweight double-header, with Okolie saying “that’s another one” of the fights he’d like to make.
‘The Bodysnatcher’ is set to take on ‘The Juggernaut’, after both have suffered career defeats. Whyte notably predicted Joyce’s loss to Zhang over five years before it happened.
Okolie and Riakporhe will face off in Queensberry Promotions’ first event with DAZN, with the promoter also announcing Leigh Wood vs Anthony Cacace and Josh Taylor vs Ekow Essuman, both to take place in May.