Cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe Defeats Krzysztof Twardowski By UD

Richard Riakporhe remains flawless in against Krzysztof Twardowski

In his latest in-ring assignment, cruiserweight boxer Richard Riakporhe (12-0, 8 KO’s) secured his twelfth professional victory. The UK bruiser accomplished this by claiming a unanimous decision win over Krzysztof Twardowski (9-3, 6 KO’s). It was also the first fight for him in nearly two full years.

The win stood as the fourth defense of his WBA inter-continental cruiserweight title. Riakporhe initially took possession of the vacant strap by forcing Sam Hyde’s corner to throw in the towel during their November 10, 2018 showdown. Riakporhe has repeatedly expressed desire in facing Lawrence Okolie, so it will be interesting to see if he maintains that energy.

With the defeat, Twardowski was rudely thrust back into the loser’s column. The Polish boxer was riding a four-fight winning streak following his second professional loss to Juergen Uldedaj back on May 11, 2019. Granted that quartet of boxers were far from the cream of the crop, Twardowski won three of those four bouts by knockout. Now, he and his team will have to reassess their situation.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

The first three rounds of the bout were composed of nine minutes of relative tedium. Both men fought cautiously at range throwing very little outside of throw their jabs. Riakporhe would land a hard right-hand here and there seemingly throwing the rounds in his direction. Yet, nothing of any real note or consequence landed for either. In the fourth and fifth rounds, Twardowski increased his activity a bit, although little changed about the overall fight dynamics. The action was remarkably dull and rather uninspiring.

The first significant item in the bout took place in the sixth when Riakporhe’s nose was damaged and began streaming blood. Thankfully for team Riakporhe, the impaired nose did not seem to adversely affect him. Yet, to the chagrin of the audience, during the seventh round, there were a number of excitement-killing clinches. The only thing of true note in the period was a hard, flush right-hand that Riakporhe landed on Twardowski’s chin.

In the eighth and final round, Riakporhe dropped Twardowski with a short right hook. Despite going down, the Polish fighter was on his feet near instantly. Even though Riakporhe got the knockdown, the bout ended with Twardowski chasing him around the ring. In the end, it was all academic because when the scorecards were read, Riakporhe got the nod on all three cards.

By: Bakari Simpson

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