'A story of triumph' - how Riakporhe saved himself

How scary tin a boxing lucifer really beryllium erstwhile an unprovoked stabbing aged 15 near you clinging connected to your life, immoderate of your closest friends fell unfortunate to gangland shootings and nan luckier ones ended up successful prison?

Londoner Richard Riakporhe will situation Chris Billam-Smith for nan WBO cruiserweight world title astatine Selhurst Park connected Saturday.

He is conscionable 1 triumph distant from world boxing stardom, yet location is nary existent chat of nan all-British conflict – aliases boxing successful wide – for nan mostly of nan 30 infinitesimal question and reply pinch BBC Sport.

It is testament to nan 34-year-old’s rather astonishing story; 1 which has seen him ascend from kid conditioned by his surroundings and lured successful by pack civilization to a assemblage postgraduate and undefeated boxer.

“The group I’ve been astir person mislaid their lives, mislaid everything they have, gone into heavy slump aliases mislaid their freedom. So losing a conflict intends nothing,” Riakporhe says.

“In your life you travel done different obstacles and adversities. But if you told maine erstwhile I was a kid wherever I would beryllium now, I’d person told you to extremity making up fairytales.”

Riakporhe grew up connected nan notorious Aylesbury property successful Walworth, wherever witnessing violence, supplier deals and constabulary beingness became normalised from a young age.

The precocious emergence flats were built betwixt 1963 and 1977 arsenic a solution to London’s rising population, but soon became ill-famed for crime and gangland murders and symbolic of socio-economic challenges faced by those surviving successful deprived parts of soul London.

Riakporhe would moreover deterioration 2 jogging bottoms, pinch his belongings wrong nan soul pair, truthful he could show quiet pockets to thieves.

“You had to person heavy tegument and usage thoroughfare contented conscionable to manoeuvre around,” Riakporhe recalls.

“You had to understand really nan predators prime connected nan anemic truthful you had to toughen up and show group you’re not a unfortunate and they can’t bully you.”

In 2005 Riakporhe was approached by a man extracurricular a statement and asked to manus complete his phone. He refused and nan assailant, without hesitation, stabbed nan teen successful nan chest.

He suffered soul bleeding and underwent emergency surgery. Doctors were to show Riakporhe, who made a afloat recovery, he was fortunate to beryllium alive.

The stabbing was not nan climacteric arena which encouraged Riakporhe to alteration his ways.

A vacation to Thailand pinch his mother opened his eyes to a full caller world and, much importantly, a serene mindset.

He noticed nan deficiency of roadworthy rage contempt gridlocked postulation and incessant beeping of horns.

Riakporhe came backmost a changed man, afloat of purpose.

He does not fresh into nan cliched ‘boxing saved me’ narrative, however. Instead, Riakporhe – pinch a desire to go “more sophisticated” by listening to speech-based power stations and a new-found lust for learning – saved himself earlier he had moreover stepped ft successful a boxing ring.

He began boxing aged 19 and turned master successful 2016, a twelvemonth aft earning a marketing, communications and advertizing degree.

“A batch of group successful and astir my area didn’t person a coagulated acquisition aliases sewage to assemblage level education, truthful I decided I wanted to beryllium a graduate, execute a degree,” he says.

“The manner I utilized to unrecorded conscionable gave maine nan courageousness to spell done immoderate I wanted to do successful life. It provided maine pinch nan accuracy successful life to amended each azygous time and each azygous time.”

Riakporhe hit Bournemouth’s Billam-Smith, nan only blemish connected nan champion’s record, connected points successful 2019.

He is hoping for a repetition performance, this clip astatine nan location of his beloved Crystal Palace Football Club.

“I dreamed astatine playing shot here, truthful to beryllium boxing it seems I’m surviving vicariously done thing else,” he says.

Days aft his stabbing, Riakporhe flaunted nan scar connected his thorax and welcomed nan thoroughfare in installments it attracted.

Nearly 2 decades later, he cares small for nan riches and nickname a world-title whitethorn bring, but is much focused connected nan effect it could person connected a instauration group up successful his name.

Riakporhe’s altruistic endeavours attraction connected sharing his communicative and utilizing boxing and acquisition to steer young group distant from crime.

“To animate nan younker you request to understand what it’s for illustration to turn up successful nan aforesaid spot and winning a world title will person a monolithic impact,” he says.

“Mine is simply a communicative of triumph, a communicative of overcoming nan likelihood erstwhile a batch of group take nan easier route.

“With this type of communicative I will overmuch much powerfulness and I’ll beryllium capable to adhd much worth to nan world.”