Richard Liakporhe could be fighting his final fight as a cruiserweight.
The 34-year-old boxer suffered his first professional defeat, losing by unanimous decision to WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith at Crystal Palace's Selhurst Park on Saturday night.
He had beaten fellow 34-year-old Billam Smith by split decision in 2019, but struggled to be competitive on a night when it was tempting to conclude he struggled to make the 200-pound cruiserweight limit.
The hard-hitting Liakporhe has long spoken of his desire to eventually fight at heavyweight and his promoter, boxer Ben Shalom, has revealed that even if he wins, he may look to move up a weight class next.
“Richard has his eye on bridgeweight and heavyweight as well, so there are a lot of options,” Shalom said. “I think the whole cruiserweight division has his eye on it. [at Billam-Smith-Riakporhe II] Because it's the most money, it has the most fans, and honestly, most people prefer it.
“The heavyweight division is a crowded one at times, you look at Oleksandr Usyk, the heavyweight champion now, you look at David Haye and his track record. [cruiserweight] There's a history of producing great heavyweights, and I think you see that with Lawrence Okolie and Richard Liakporhe. There's that side to it. I think Jai Opetaia will probably do well at heavyweight.
“It's a great weight class in the sense that you get to see the big guys fight in 50-50 matches, and it's pretty easy to schedule fights. The top four in the cruiserweight division are: [Jack Massey defeated Isaac Chamberlain to win the European and Commonwealth titles] “There were some domestic fighters on the card. The cruiserweight division is shaping up to be an interesting fight right now.”
Since his recent win, Billam Smith has been in discussions with trainer Shane McGuigan and Shalom about a possible fight with WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez.
“We have Opetaia, some people think we're trying to avoid him but that's not the case,” the promoter said. “Obviously we have Ramirez in the US, Chris has his eye on the US so I think this is his favourite fight.”
“[Massey, having defeated Chamberlain, is] knock the door [for a world-title fight].this is, [heavyweight contender] Joseph Parker, and look how old it has become.”
