Richard Riakpohe will continue his quest for a world title in the heavyweight division.
The Londoner, a former cruiserweight world title challenger, became British heavyweight champion with a stoppage victory over Jamie TKV on the Tyson Fury undercard bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Liakpohe believes this is a warning shot to other ranks.
“I think that’s what excites me even more as an addition to the heavyweight division,” Liakpohe told Sky Sports.
“They want to see a knockout. Let’s be real. Let’s face it. They want to see an exciting knockout, a powerful punch thrown. It’s a game where they take the time and the money to go to the stadium and see real fighters throwing shots.”
“If you look at my aura and my body language, you can see that I am serious about causing great damage to this division.”
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Richard Liakpohe, who lost his last world title fight to Chris Billam-Smith, is determined to become world heavyweight champion with a convincing knockout win over Jamie TKV.
The British title in the heavyweight division has often sent fighters into world-class competition. Liakpohe’s ambitions spread there.
“I want a title fight,” he said. “I’m very interested to see who wins between Daniel Dubois and (WBO champion Fabio) Wardley. Everyone is waiting to see what happens with (Olexandr) Usyk. I want one of them to win the title.”
“It feels like new fighters are coming up right now. We’re just waiting for our chance. It’s dangerous for these guys with a proven track record to fight us. We’re dangerous, we’re hungry, we don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think it’s wise. So give up the belt to fight!”
There’s not necessarily a clear path for him to be in direct championship contention, but he’s hoping he gets the chance.
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“I’m just sailing the ocean looking for opportunities,” he said. “The landscape is always changing and all I can do is be prepared.
“Every day now I’m moving towards becoming a champion,” he continued. “I know what it takes. I’ve been around the game for a while, I’ve seen a lot of people come into the gym, I’ve seen people at the top, I’ve seen them leave. I’ve seen it all.
“That’s why I’m just sitting back and doing what I have to do and I know that sooner or later I’m going to come out on top because I know exactly what’s going on and I understand the system.
“We’re trying to push towards a world title fight.”
