Richard Riakporhe warns Tommy McCarthy that he will feel the power in Peterborough

Richard Riakporhe [8(7)-0] says the noise of Tommy McCarthy hitting the floor on March 2nd will echo around the cruiserweight division and see him become a name.

The WBA Inter-Continental champion and World #12 goes into a springboard fight with the Belfast man on the Sky Sports-broadcast JDNXTGEN card with seven stoppages from eight wins – and warns ‘The Mac Attack’ that he has the power to change their fight and his career early next month.

The 6’5″ cruiser admits former amateur standout McCarthy [13(6)-1(0)] represents a step up for him following his come-from-behind break-out win over Sam Hyde but believes his next opponent is the kind of name he needs as he tries to build towards fights with the more established Matchroom fighters at the weight.

29-year-old Riakporhe also believes he is the better of the two operators and will earn victory in Peterborough.

“This is the type of calibre I need to be mixing it with right now,” Riakporhe told Sky Sports.

“At the same time, I believe that I’m better than him, and I think I’ve got what it takes to get the job done”

Riakporhe points to the fact McCarthy went the full eight rounds with Czech journeyman Jiri Svacina, a fighter he stopped in two, last Saturday as evidence the Belfast fighter may not have the power to trouble him.

On top of this, he warns that if McCarthy can’t take a punch, he will have ‘big problems’.

The Londoner noted how “he fought on Saturday against a guy that I fought against in my fourth fight, and he didn’t last two rounds.”

“I don’t know whether he did it on purpose to go that distance, but if he can’t deal with that, then there’s definitely a lot of questions that are going to be asked on March 2nd.”

“If we were to trade off, and I land, he will be in big problems. It’s not me trying to brag or boast, but it’s just fact. I’ve got a heavy shot. Any person that I’ve sparred with in the past and I’ve landed clean, then they’re in trouble. Same with fights, it’s the same thing.”

Like McCarthy, Riakporhe seems aware that Matchroom and Eddie Hearn are looking to build domestic opponents for British champion Lawrence Okolie and knows a big performance next month would move him into the mix.

“Once I deal with Tommy in good fashion, a lot of people are going to realise what type of fighter I am. It’s definitely going to send some noise out there,” he stated.

Lenadoon’s McCarthy, as mentioned above, warmed up for he fight with an eight-round points win over Svacina at the Ulster Hall on Saturday night.

The MHD man would come through the 24 minutes with the awkward journeyman unscathed and enters the Riakporhe fight full of confidence.

READ: Tommy McCarthy ready for Riakporhe following “dress rehearsal”