Following his two-round demolition of Tommy Welch at Tottenham in November, he headed to Tanzania, South Africa and the UAE to completely unplug from boxing.

But when he was offered the chance to fight fellow Londoner Jeamie TKV for his British heavyweight title, it was back to work for Riakporhe (19-1, 15 KOs). These days, that means the calm and solitude of Lanarkshire, Scotland, nearly 400 miles north of the south London borough he calls home.  “Scotland is nice,” he says. “It’s peaceful. I’ve come to realize that’s what I really want — peace.



“You can hear your thoughts up here and have nothing to do but focus on the fight ahead. When I come here, I get an Airbnb and just stay up here for weeks. It’s pretty cool and I enjoy the solitude.

“I prefer to be alone. Sometimes I feel like when you're around too many people, if they don't have that correct energy, it can be draining and the last thing you want to do is be drained of your energy, mental or physical.



“You need it to train properly. But here, I feel energized. The people are very nice.”



Riakporhe’s new association with Scotland came when he left former trainer Angel Fernandez to join Billy Nelson in late 2024. The switch also coincided with his decision to move north from the 200-pound cruiserweight limit to try his hand with the heavies.

It has gone well, with KO victories over Kevin Espindola in Saudi Arabia in May before that win over Welch six months later. British champion TKV represents his toughest heavyweight test to date.

“I think it was a good performance,” Riakporhe says of Welch. “It was quick and I feel like that’s exactly how it should have been.

“I think it was just interesting to see if I could carry that type of power in the next division, and as you can see I’ve been able to do that and now I'm ready to show more.”

Riakporhe, 36, is into his 10th year as a professional, but given his propensity for knockouts, he has only been involved in 95 rounds of boxing.

TKV, a former wrestler, is expected to make life hard for Riakporhe although the "Midnight Train" is a 2/5 favorite (-250) despite his position as challenger. The pair will clash as part of the undercard of The Ring event headlined by Tyson Fury's fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov live on Netflix this Saturday.



“I feel fresh at 36,” says Riakporhe, who made his debut at York Hall on August 6, 2016.

“The record shows a lot of my fights end inside the distance, and even when I was at world level as a cruiserweight people were still asking if I could take a shot because I’d never taken any damage like that. I feel like that’s how I’ve been able to maintain my good looks.”

“I think this game is all about being fresh. It’s like Floyd Mayweather says, the more damage you get, the shorter your career will be. I think that resonated with me a long time ago.

“I’ve always been blessed with great reflexes, but I’m also conscious of how much damage we’re taking and I don’t want to take too much. The truth is, I just don’t like getting punched in the face.”