Why boxing fans need to start paying attention to Viddal Riley?

Viddal Riley, 24, most notably broke on to the boxing scene as a coach. The 24-year-old was the trainer of YouTube sensation KSI (Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji), when he fought Joe Weller and Logan Paul.

Riley had a very impressive amateur pedigree, where he started his boxing career at the age of six. The man from Hackney collected eight national championships as well as winning a European Junior Silver Medal in Anapa, Russia.

He also became a 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympian for Team GB. Riley had an excellent amateur record of 41-8 (19 KO's).

The young Brit is a cruiserweight with an unbeaten record of 5-0. He has stopped two of his opponents, so his current knock-out ratio is 40%. He's boxed a total of 16 rounds, meaning his professional fights last 3.2 rounds on average.

The real question that surrounds Viddal Riley is that he's such a big star in the sport, without having faced a top-level boxer yet. This is because he made a huge name for himself in the social media world when training KSI.

While KSI was preparing for his second ameteur fight against Logan Paul, he managed to get some training in the prestigious Mayweather Boxing Club, in Las Vegas. Of course, Riley was there to train KSI but he was also given an opportunity to spar in the legendary gym.

Riley sparred with the American NABF Cruiserweight champion at the time, Andrew Tabiti. In doing so, he impressed Jeff Mayweather and Amer Abdallah, with whom he signed a deal to turn professional.

In Viddal Riley's short five-fight career, he's already been on the undercard of the WBA welterweight championship bout between Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He also featured on the undercard of Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook in February.

The young Brit is only just getting started, as he recently signed a multi-fight deal with the promotional company Boxxer in 2021. The talented cruiserweight will undoubtedly be on our screens over the coming years and there's huge potential that he could one day become a world champion.

Watch Viddal Riley's full fight against Willforce Shihepo via Sky Sports Boxing (YouTube):

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Can Viddal Riley become a world champion one day?

Viddal Riley has proven to possess an impressively high level of boxing IQ and that he isn't just a social media star. The Brit has a better pedigree in the amateur ranks than most other professional boxers. He's now taking the traditional route in the professional game by gradually stepping up against his opponents.

Becoming a world champion, however, is a much more difficult task but when Riley steps through the ropes, you can't help but feel that you're witnessing a future world champion.

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The current crop of cruiserweight world champions aren't making a claim to be on the pound-for-pound ranked list. So, there is a huge opportunity for Riley to make it to the top of his weight division.

In November 2019, fellow Englishman Lawrence Okolie, who would later become the WBO world cruiserweight champion, praised Riley. He stated that Riley "is in the top 5 [people] I've sparred". This suggests that even three years ago, Viddal Riley was competing against a world-level star.