A furious boxing coach stormed the ring after his fighter was laid out with a devastating blow. Richard Riakporhe was involved in a physical battle with Fabio Turchi in the IBF cruiserweight eliminator when the former delivered a brutal shot to the latter's stomach late in the second round.
The Italian tumbled to the ground in agony but still made it back to his feet once the referee began to count. But Turchi did not get the chance to fight back as his coach, concerned for his fighter, ran to the ring and threw the towel in to call off the bout - handing Riakporhe the win.
"I feel great, I didn't have much time to get into it," the 32-year-old said after the fight. "I landed a good shot and I'm building up the reputation that I'm now the body snatcher. Call me the body snatcher now.
"There were some points I was trying to target, my coaches are amazing. We had a gameplan, keep it long, but look for the opportunity and when you can punish, do it and that's exactly what I did. I keep telling everyone, I'm the fighter. I've had four fights in nine months and want to go out again [later this year]. We're taking over, all these champions are running scared."
Riakporhe, 32, who remains undefeated, is now expected to turn his attention to an all-British bout with Lawrence Okolie. Ahead of Saturday's bout BOXXER CEO Ben Shalom said: "I think it's a fight Lawrence would like, I think he wants the big domestic fights.
"He knows that's what sells in the UK and it's amazing to have two guys at the top of the division both from Britain, both from London, that is the most exciting thing." Okolie is the current WBO belt holder and that could be a huge all-British clash in the future, with Riakporhe, who eventually sees himself fighting at heavyweight, saying it was "very, very likely" they would meet in the next two years.
"Every single champion, I've had enough, I want to fight them all," added Riakporhe. "I have power in both hands, my technique was a mess before, now I've worked with [trainer] Angel Fernandez and worked it out. That's why you see me knock people out with my left hand and I didn't use my right. It's serious business, we're not playing anymore.
"Angel Fernandez has spoken to me and analysed my mindset. He said to get to the next level you need to change, that's why you see me getting rid of people earlier."
