Richard Riakporhe continued his march towards a world cruiserweight title shot as he stopped former WBO champion Krzysztof Glowacki in four rounds on the Eubank-Smith bill in Manchester, although when that title shot will come for the unbeaten Londoner is far from clear.

Riakporhe, 33, is blessed with plenty of power, too much for Glowacki who was in trouble every time Riakporhe opened up. But with former opponent and fellow Boxxer-signed fighter Chris Billam-Smith looking set for a world title shot in late Spring, Riakporhe might have to wait a little longer.

“We wanted a knockout victory and I predicted round three or four, so some people in the gym who put bets on are going to be happy,” Riakporhe said. “We’re on a train, the next stop, all the champions.”

He called out Jai Opetaia, Ilunga Makabu, Lawrence Okolie and Arsen Goulamirian. “I know about all you lot and I think about you every day when I go to sleep,” he said. “Trust me we are coming for you.”

The first round-and-a-half was cagey, as Riakporhe prodded away with the jab, while Glowacki tried to work an opening without over-committing. But, as often happens with Riakporhe, he suddenly sprang into action, landing a straight right over the top of Glowacki’s left that made the Pole’s knees buckle.

He almost touched down as Riakporhe came flying forward, but Riakporhe then landed a big right that Riakporhe wore quite well.

Riakporhe went back to his jab in the third round, as Glowacki tried to slip and slide to get a way inside.

The methodical approach continued until the final 30 seconds of the fourth round when Riakporhe unleashed a right, followed by a left to the body and then opened up with a four-punch salvo that had Glowacki in serious trouble and pinned in a corner. Riakporhe landed two more thudding rights before referee Howard Foster dived in to stop it at 2:44 of the round.  

Billam-Smith joined Riakporhe in the ring after the fight, although a rematch between the pair is unlikely to happen until one of them at least gets a world title. “We both want world titles, we both need to go away and get world titles and make it a huge fight, I think everyone would want to see that again,” Billam-Smith said

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.