For Viddal Riley, a Tottenham Hotspur fan about to fight at his beloved team’s stadium, West Ham Boys Amateur Boxing Club is an ironic place to prepare. Yet here he is, in the gym that has been his boxing home for well over a decade, surrounded by claret and blue.
On a wooden board down one end of the historic building, a haven for young boxers for more than a century, Riley’s name can be found in several places – evidence of his amateur success. But while his pedigree is undeniable, the wider boxing world came to know the 27-year-old through endeavours far removed from the amateur game. When Riley began training YouTuber KSI in 2017, his name reached an audience outside of visitors and pupils at West Ham Boys Club.
