Riley became European cruiserweight champion on Saturday night with a classy and lopsided points win over divisional stalwart Mateusz Masternak at London's O2 Arena.

The victory is set to fire Riley up the IBF rankings and, with their title currently vacant, it has been suggested that they will order him to face their No. 3 Billam-Smith for the belt. The first two positions in the rankings are currently empty.

However, Riley’s promoter Amer Abdallah has now confirmed that he has already held talks with Team Mikaelian about a September shot at the 35-year-old Armenian’s belt.

Abdallah said: “The position with the IBF, we don’t take lightly or overlook but we absolutely welcome a fight with Noel Mikalian. His team and I have been in discussions and that could be our next step. We will have a conversation with Mauricio Sulaiman and make sure everything aligns.

“There are a lot of options for Viddal at this time. The world stage is next, there are a lot of opportunities for him and we will discuss them as a team. Whatever move makes the most sense is where he goes next.”

Mikaelian, The Ring's No. 4-rated cruiserweight, is yet to defend the WBC belt he won via unanimous decision against Badou Jack in Los Angeles last year but is looking for his next opponent.

Billam-Smith, meanwhile, has been out of the ring since April when he beat Brandon Glanton on points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr.’s victory over Conor Benn in their first clash.

A fight with The Ring's cruiserweight No. 9 Riley, 28, would represent a chance at revenge for "CBS," who was beaten by the Londoner in the ABA quarter-finals nine years ago this month.

“It would be a great fight,” Riley said of Billam-Smith. “The storyline of me and him fighting is already made, it’s set up.

“People talk about who are the two best cruiserweights in this country right now and with Billam-Smith being a former world champion, it’s always there.

“I’d look forward to having that fight, I’ve got a lot of respect for Chris, he is a gentleman as he calls himself, but one thing’s for sure, that would be a very entertaining fight. The fans would be the true winners if that one happens.”