Billam-Smith vs Riakporhe Purse: Rematch Rewards to Surpass the Original?

Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe are set to renew their rivalry inside the ring on June 15 at Selhurst Park. We take a look at the Billam-Smith vs Riakporhe purse to find out how much each of the fighters are getting for the rematch.

The fighters will trade punches five years after their first meeting in the English capital. Both have grown in reputation and skills since then, so this is shaping up to be an enticing encounter. 

Billam-Smith vs Riakporhe Purse: Prestige or Payday, What Comes First?

Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe are two fighters who are no strangers to each other. 

Their paths crossed for the first time in 2019. Riakporhe held the WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title back then, and Billam-Smith was the challenger. The scenario is reversed this time around, as Riakporhe will look to take the WBO cruiserweight belt away from the Bournemouth man. 

Billam-Smith knows the taste of victory well. The WBO cruiserweight champion, secured the belt in May 2023 with a dominant performance against Okolie, flooring the Londoner a staggering three times in Bournemouth. 

Since then, he's shown no signs of slowing down, retaining the title in December after Masternak's eighth-round retirement. The Gentleman, who is at 20-1 before the fight, will be determined to avenge the solitary defeat of his career to date.

Riakporhe, the undefeated challenger, boasts a chilling streak of five consecutive stoppages.  

His latest victim, Dylan Bregeon, succumbed to a second-round knockout last November. He is at 17-0 heading into this fight. The Midnight Train will draw inspiration from his split decision victory against Billam-Smith five years ago, but he will be wary of the fact that he will be taking on a way more mature fighter on Saturday. 

Boxing Fighter Pay – Billam-Smith vs Riakporhe

There is no official Billam-Smith vs Riakporhe payout announcement as of writing. That said, we can always make some informed predictions based on past boxing fighter pay information. 

Let’s take a look back at Billam-Smith’s title fight against Lawrence Okolie. 

According to reports, the total purse size was $800k. Even though Okolie lost the belt, he walked away with half a million dollars. Billam-Smith took home $300k alongside the shiny piece of leather. This should not come as a surprise since Okolie was the defending champion. Therefore, he was entitled to the larger split of the purse. 

Richard Riakporhe’s financial details are well under wraps. 

His team did an excellent job in keeping his purse payout information secret. We don’t know how much he made from his past fights, but the numbers should be far from outrageous since he wasn’t involved in a lot of high-profile events. 

That said, there is a good deal of history behind this fight. So, we believe the Billam-Smith vs Riakporhe prize money will be a six-figure number. 

Our estimation says this will be a million-dollar bout, with Billam-Smith getting a guaranteed $600k as the current champion. Riakporhe will receive a $400k paycheck for his participation.