Sport | Boxing Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe tonight go head to head once again in an eagerly-anticipated rematch at Selhurst Park . It has been five years since the British cruiserweight rivals’ first showdown, which saw a thrilling bout on the Dillian Whyte vs Oscar Rivas undercard ending in a split-decision win for the unbeaten Riakporhe to hand Billam-Smith his first and only professional defeat to date. Now they finally contest a high-profile second fight at the home of Crystal Palace , with Billam-Smith putting his WBO world title at 200lbs on the line for the second time, having reeled off 10 successive victories since that loss to Riakporhe.
Having defeated the likes of Tommy McCarthy (twice) and Isaac Chamberlain over recent years, ‘The Gentleman’ outpointed friend and former training partner Lawrence Okolie on an unforgettable night on home soil in front of an adoring crowd at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium last May, realising his world title ambitions in dream fashion. The 19-1 Billam-Smith, 33 then returned to Bournemouth for a successful first defence in December as he forced the eighth-round retirement of veteran former European champion Mateusz Masternak. Now he will be looking to avenge that sole pro loss against Riakporhe, who is still undefeated at 17-0 having won all seven of his bouts since beating Billam-Smith to retain the WBA Inter-Continental belt.
He has also held the British and WBC Silver titles at cruiserweight, but is now making.
