Richard Riakporhe planning world title fight at Selhurst Park in 2022; Crystal Palace chairman “keen” on event | Boxing News

Richard Riakporhe believes he is one win away from setting up a dream world title fight at the home of his beloved Crystal Palace towards the end of this year.

The British cruiserweight extended his unbeaten record to 14-0 (10 knockouts) last month with an eight-round stoppage victory against Deion Jumah at Wembley Arena, finishing his rival with a brutal body blow to boost his hopes of a title shot.

He is now eyeing a meet with a yet-to-be confirmed opponent this summer in what he feels will be the final stepping stone towards that opportunity.

“The plan is to have one more fight in the summer and then move onto the title fight towards the end of the year, there are some good options out there,” he told Sky Sports.

“A lot of people have shown interest now, because they know Sky is the place to be, Sky is the place to put on these big shows and broadcast them all over.

“There are some options and I think fans will be very happy. We have a meeting scheduled, that should be Sunday, that’s going to be with (BOXXER promoter) Ben Shalom and the team.”

Riakporhe vowed to “change boxing” by restoring a willingness to fight anybody that he says the sport has lost over the years.

WBA (Super) cruiserweight champion Arsen Goulamirian has emerged as a potential opponent for the 32-year-old, with BOXXER promoter Shalom confirming that they are in contact with the Frenchman’s team.

Goulamirian had been due to defend his belt against Aleksey Egorov in December last year, but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19. He has not fought since December 2019 when he stopped opponent Constantin Bejenaru in the 10th round.

“Absolutely (somebody he would be interested in fighting),” said Riakporhe. “It’s somebody I believe I could beat in good fashion, apparently he’s interested so we can make that happen.”

Riakporhe has made no secret of his wish to stage a world title clash at Selhurst Park, with Palace chairman Steve Parish evidently interested in welcoming the event to the home of the Premier League club.

“Latest, early next year, but we’re going for the end of this year,” Riakporhe said of his ideal timeframe for a title fight. “We want to do it big at Selhurst Park, that’s the dream.

“It wouldn’t just mean so much to me but to the fans as well, I get messages every day ‘let’s get this big one in Selhurst Park’, ‘when’s it going to happen?’. It’s going to happen soon, it’s just patience.

“I’ve got the word from Steve (Parish), he’s keen on this and hosting this event. It’s going to be something to remember.”

Riakporhe has recently been training with Anthony Joshua amid preparations for this summer’s rematch against Oleksandr Usyk, who stripped the Brit of his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles via unanimous decision at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September.

He is expecting a different story this time around.

“AJ is looking dangerous, he’s looking like a very dangerous fighter,” he said. “I’m very interested to see this rematch against Usyk.

“A lot of people wrote him off, but they’ll see something very different when it comes to the rematch.

“If I was a betting man I’d be putting all my money on AJ. It’s not going to be what we saw in Tottenham.

“I believe he’s going to be the three-time world heavyweight champion.”