NEWS: CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH & RICHARD RIAKPORHE WANT WORLD TITLE REMATCH

By: Jay Calderon

Immediately after his fourth round stoppage win over Krzysztof Glowacki on Saturday in Manchester, England, Richard Riakporhe was eager to state his desire to go after the big names at Cruiserweight, including fellow unbeaten Brit Lawrence Okolie.

However, one name he didn't mention was former foe Chris Billam-Smith, the current European champion, with whom he shared the ring in July 2019. After ten competitive rounds, Riakporhe was awarded a split decision win in a close encounter. Now, with both having continued on since their initial bout and made bigger names for themselves, it's certainly a bankable fight should the pair revisit the rivalry.

While Billam-Smith, who last competed in December, viciously stopping Armend Xhoxhaj in fifth frame, admits to wanting the return, he seems to understand why Riakporhe had his sights set elsewhere for now. Reasonably, CBS knows a return would be much bigger if both stepped into the ring with more on the line.

"I haven't got a world title yet, I understand that. We both want world titles; we both need to go and get world titles, and make it a huge fight. I think everyone would want to see that fight again," Billam-Smith told Sky Sports, standing side by side with Riakporhe in the ring after the contest.

"Both of us are coming off the back of great stoppages," CBS continued. "We had a great knockout by me last time out (over , and Richard just put on a great performance. Probably his best yet as a pro. Which is exciting for me, it's a little extra added spice to the challenge. But I'm bang up for it."

If one or both could snag a portion of the gold at 200 pounds, it would certainly make for a more interesting encounter. That said, Cruiserweight is a tricky division. World champion Jai Opetaia certainly isn't a slouch, and the aforementioned Okolie is a solid operator as well.

The softest touches could come in the way of titlists Arsen Goulamirian and Ilunga Makabu. Goulamirian, while boasting an impressive looking record of 27-0 with 18 KOs, is relatively untested at the top, so he remains something of an unknown commodity. Meanwhile, Makabu has looked average at best since a knockout loss to Tony Bellew way back in 2016.

It will be interesting to see what path both men take for the remainder of 2023.

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