Riley’s title hopes ruined by clash of heads
Viddal Riley - Credit: Archant
Hackney heavyweight loses on split decision
Hackney’s Vidal Riley saw his hopes of glory at the National Elite Championships ended by a split points decision at Rotherham’s Magna Centre.
London heavyweight champion Riley, boxing for the West Ham club, won his quarter-final bout against Western Counties counterpart Chris Billam-Smith to set up a semi-final meeting with Natty Ngwenya (Army).
But he then suffered from a clash of heads during a hard-fought contest and was left with a huge lump on his forehead, which affected his boxing for the rest of the bout and saw him slip to a 3-2 defeat.
Hackney-born Sam Maxwell celebrated victory in his second professional outing on a Queensberry Promotion at the Leicester Arena.
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The two-time National Elite champion stopped Georgie Wright (Loughton) with a technical knockout in the fifth round.
Stoke Newington cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie makes his third professional appearance in a month on the big Matchroom bill at Wembley Stadium this weekend.
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The 24-year-old, who won his first two contests in the paid ranks inside the first round, has spent the past week sparring with world IBF champion Anthony Joshua ahead of his meeting with Derby journeyman Russ Henshaw.
