VIDDAL RILEY is on the way to achieving his goal of becoming world champion at 28 – while snubbing celebrity super-fights in the process.
The British prospect is 6-0 and armed with an elite amateur background which saw him compete in the youth Olympics.
It means his promotional partners of Sky Sports and Boxxer are well placed to push the cruiserweight on to title honours.
And ahead of his third bout in 2022, which will make it the most he has fought in a calendar year since turning professional, Riley feels he is on the right track.
The East Londoner told SunSport: “I’d like to be world champion by 28. I remember I first kind of said that to myself when I was 16 or 17.
“I thought, ‘OK, in ten years where do I want to be? And that’s world champion. So I feel like I’m still on track to do that.
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“I’m 25 now, activity has increased in the ring and next year hopefully we can push on for a domestic title or some sort of title.
“Then, hopefully by 28 I can fight for a world title.”
Riley did not shoot to fame due to his collection of belts in the unpaid ranks or his skills as a potential Olympic hopeful.
It was training YouTube sensations like KSI, 29, which helped propel him to a whole new set of fame and fans.
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As a result, Riley has built an army of supporters, with over 2million YouTube subscribers and social media followers.
And they are all dying to see the unbeaten contender fight the likes of Jake Paul, 25, or Tommy Fury, 23, the Love Islander and brother to Tyson.
But Riley, trained by his dad Derrick since the age of six, is happy to pass over the money-grab bouts to his friends while he eyes world titles.
He said: “I guess the benefits are very short term
“What’s in front of you can be very beneficial with a lot to gain but long term when I look at how I want to be remembered, I already have the big stigma connected to me being KSI’s previous trainer.
“So to continue in that realm, keeping that entertained is just not something that interests me.
“That world can co-exist with the traditional boxing world – if that’s what you want to call it – as well.
“I mean, if anyone from that industry crosses over to the boxing world, I guess that changes everything.
“But for the time being, I think there is a clear line and I want to keep that line there.”
Riley’s talent and fanbase has never come into question, but his successful amateur run seems to have flown under the radar.
He said: “My amateur career has been overlooked massively because I wasn’t popular when I was doing those things.
“So what comes to everyone’s mind is what I’m known for, which is coaching KSI and having a bit of YouTube and social media presence.
“That kind of overruled my amateur boxing credentials but I understand that and at the end of the day, I still won and there’s still something to my name.
“It put me in good stead for my boxing career.”
Riley returns on Saturday night in Manchester against 3-0 Ross McGuigan on Sky Sports, to continue his busiest year.
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He said: “Since I’ve had the deal with Sky Sports and Boxxer, I know how many fights I’m supposed to have a year.
“There’s frequent shows being put on and it just gives me the chance to be more active.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
