Riley: I’m Chamberlain’s money fight – he can’t box like me!

Viddal Riley has called for a fight against Isaac Chamberlain next and is ready to prove he is a more gifted boxer than his British counterpart.

Riley extended his undefeated professional record to 11-0 on Sunday when he cruised to a unanimous-decision victory over Mikael Lawal on the undercard of Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley’s British and Commonwealth heavyweight title fight.

The win arrived five months after Chamberlain had also beaten Lawal by unanimous decision to clinch the British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles.

Chamberlain and Riley exchanged heated words when the pair met at ringside after Sunday’s contest, with both men evidently keen on taking their rivalry to the ring.

“Me winding him up about crying after beating the same opponent got under his skin a little bit,” Riley told Sky Sports.

Trending

“He understands that the fight with me is where the most money is because he’s completely dismissing the fact he had a mandatory there.

“There’s not much I can do or anybody can do to change who his next opponent should be unless he lets that belt go. It’s just a shame the belts he was crying so heavily for he is willing to give up in order to fight me for the money.

“It goes to show I’m in a very good position and the opponent he struggled to defeat, not scorecard wise but effort wise, I beat effortlessly and injured. It’s a good reason for him to get riled up and talking more because he’s been at it for a long time.

“I don’t think he’s ever had his money fight and it just so happens that after all these years I’ve circled round and I’m the money fight in his career.”

The heavy-hitting Lawal marked the toughest test to date in the development of Riley, who has set his sights on domestic success before taking a step up to the next level. For him, Chamberlain represents something of a gateway.

“I got off the phone to (promoter) Ben Shalom a couple of days ago and said if that fight can be made next then make it next,” Riley continued.

“It just means Isaac will have to let that belt go, let the British title go, which is frustrating because the main goal is to become British champion.

“If he lets that belt go and it becomes vacant, me and Chev (Clarke) can fight for it later in the year once I take Isaac out the way.”

Chamberlain had been highly dismissive of Riley’s performance against Lawal, criticising him of running against Lawal and insisting he would “break” the 27-year-old.

“He’s the enemy, he’s not supposed to praise my performance. Even if I knocked Mikael out in three rounds he’d probably say it’s because he softened him up first,” Riley said.

“If he could box how I can box, he would. If he could go and box Mikael and win as clear and effortlessly as me, but he doesn’t have that option. It’s his job to beat down on it and say how it’s boring.”

Riley revealed he had sustained a cracked rib during the first round of his win over Lawal, though had looked unfazed as he adjusted his game plan to work behind his jab while putting the onus on his opponent to seek an opening that would never present itself.

He believes his ability to win through injury served as more evidence that he would overcome Chamberlain.

“He tried to make his fight more exciting and it still wasn’t, at least I know the game plan I had was because I was injured and can still box to a clear victory,” said Riley.

“It looked like he was trying to make his fight more entertaining and it was still a snooze-fest. Isaac with those blue shades, let him keep talking, he’s great at selling the fight and making people interested.

“We’re all in the game to have big fights, that’s for sure a big fight. Isaac is a good fighter, he’s very experienced but he’s just not better than me, time will tell.”

Spreaker

This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.


Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.

Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once

Chamberlain is 16-2 in his career, his only two defeats coming against Lawrence Okolie in 2018 and Chris Billam-Smith in 2022 via unanimous decision.

Riley has questioned the speed of the 30-year-old’s progress in comparison to that of his own.

“I expect him to show the world he’s braver than me and willing to dig deep and get into a war,” said Riley. “He’s proven he can do that, Isaac is very tough and I don’t take anything away from him as a fighter.

“He’s a good fighter, very tough and has shown he can be in the trenches and come out the other side. But every time he’s been in the trenches he has lost, it’s not something to brag about. He gets credit for his defeats, not his wins.

“His best win is Mikael, which took him 18 fights, my best win is Mikael which took me 11 fights. According to BoxRec I’m 25 in the world, he’s 24 in the world, but he was fighting in The O2 in 2018 when I was coaching KSI.

“After all these years, how is he only one place above me and have the audacity to talk with so much chest?”

Ad content | Stream Sky Sports on NOW

Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW. Instant access to live action from the Premier League, EFL, Boxing, F1, England Cricket, Tennis and so much more.