Boxing fans at the Creed 3 London Premiere almost got a taste of the real thing as UK cruiserweight, Lawrence Okolie and Richard Riakporke, got into a bit of an altercation.
The pair have been discussing a fight via the media, and things boiled over when they met in public.
Riakporhe recently told TalkSPORT that he ‘saw red’ after ‘feeling disrespected’, and admitted that he started the scuffle when he felt Okolie invaded his personal space.
He confirmed that no punches were thrown and that he removed himself from the situation quickly.
Okolie, the current WBO champion of the division, has now given his side to Sky Sports.
“I saw him enter into the place. Not like I hate him or nothing. I just walked upto and said ‘hey mate you all right?’ … He was kind of shocked that I walked up to him, and I just ‘you’ve been calling me out, I’m here live in the flesh, do you want to do this? What’s going on?’
“I could see him getting really pumped up and I was thinking what’s wrong with this guy? Just relax, bro, I’m only trying to have a conversation. Then, I agree, he saw red.
Pushed me. It turned into a whole ruckus. I didn’t walk upto him with the ide of having a fight, I wanted to egg him on a bit, just say let’s make it happen, and then it turned into what it turned into.”
The altercation is no problem for Okolie, though – in fact, it’s planted the seed for a fight between them.
“I jumped on a plane happy all the way back to camp, saying I’m gonna knock out David Light and then Richard’s gonna get it next.”
With both now signed to BOXXER and Sky Sports, it does seem that only David Light stands in the way of the all-British dust up, set this time in a boxing ring rather than a cinema.