Okolie and Riakporhe will meet in the ring in April (Picture: Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
British boxer Lawrence Okolie taunted rival Richard Riakporhe over his friendship with Madonna in an icy exchange promoting their fight later this year.
Okolie and Riakporhe came face-to-face at a press conference in Manchester on Monday with the two Londoners set to collide in a heavyweight showdown in April.
A simmering rivalry between the two was sparked in February last year when they came to blows at the Creed III premiere in London with members of their respective teams and security pulling them apart.
At Monday’s press conference, Okolie was asked what set off the melee, responding: ‘I didn’t actually disrespect him. I went over to him, and I said, “Madonna’s old now”, and that set it off. That was all. The rest was on camera.’
Following Okolie’s comments, Riakporhe met his rival with a death stare across the table. Asked if was nervous, Riakporhe responded: ‘I’m nervous, I’m scared of a big hug that might suffocate me.’
Okolie hit back: ‘I’m gonna deal with you, and deal with you in good fashion, and then you can go back to kissing Madonna and your modelling career. We’ll leave it at that.’
While establishing himself as one of the country’s top cruiserweights, Riakporhe, from Walworth, has also enjoyed success away from the ring, landing modelling roles with Burberry and Dior while also rubbing shoulders with celebrities and striking up a friendship with the ‘Queen of Pop.’
Madonna shared the picture of the two last year (Picture: Instagram/Madonna
After photos of the two were shared on social media, including one from the 66-year-old sitting on the boxer’s lap at a party, Riakporhe later insisted their friendship was purely a platonic one.
‘She’s just a friend, just a friend,’ he told The Sun. I’m a gym rat so I don’t really have time to see a lot of my friends.
Okolie aimed the dig at Monday’s press conference (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
‘She’s a great person, I know her quite well. Her whole life has pretty much been in the public eye. She’s good company.’
After amassing an impressive run of knockout victories, Riakporhe fell short in his maiden world title shot against Chris Billiam-Smith at Selhurst Park last summer.
Richard Riakporhe has lost just one of his 18 fights (Picture: James Chance/Getty Images)
Okolie was also beaten by Billam-Smith, knocked down three time as he lost his WBO cruiserweight title to the Bournemouth fighter in 2023. Okolie, who has seen his fighting style criticised at stages in his career, was also deducted points for holding onto his opponent during that loss.
Both Okolie and Riakphore have now moved up to the heavyweight division to re-establish themselves among the sport’s biggest names.
They are part of a huge heavyweight card on 5 April at the Co-op Live Arena on Saturday 5 April where Joe Joyce and Dillian Whyte will also collide.
