On June 15 at the Selhurst Park Football Ground, Crystal Palace two familiar foes, both of British Origin collide once again for the WBO World Cruiserweight Championship.
Their first encounter at the 02 Arena in July 2019 ended in a Split Decision win for Riakporhe ( 17 - 0, 13 Kos) as he dropped Billam-Smith in round 7.
Back then, the two vied for the WBA International Cruiserweight Title which Riakporhe after winning has had some decent wins notably against Jack Massey and Krzysztof Glowacki.
On the other hand, Billam-Smith ( 19-1, 13 Kos) bounced back just four months after being handed a first career loss; knocking out Craig Glover inside five.
"The Gentleman" as Billam-Smith is called, worked his way back; recording two wins over Tommy McCarthy, a UD win against Isaac Chamberlain, before annexing the WBO World Cruiserweight Title against Lawrence Okolie in May last year.
It's going to be an uphill task for the reigning champ: defending against the man who handed him his first and only professional loss.
Albeit, many pundits are of the view that Billam-Smith at 33 years has acquired the tools over time to get the job done against his old nemesis who's also a year older and 2 inches taller at 6ft5.
Put together by Ben Shalom's Boxxer, the bout should definitely be an enthralling barnburner.
Samuel Opoku Amoah is a writer and boxing analyst for AceTVBoxing.com. He can be reached via email: samgolden715@gmail.com.
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