The British cruiserweight suffered the first defeat of his career when he lost to Chris Billam-Smith last weekend and his promoter Ben Shalom suggests that it could be the last time he has fought at that level.

Shalom said: "Richard’s got an eye on bridgerweight and heavyweight as well, so there’s huge options. I think the whole of the cruiserweight division was looking [at Billam-Smith-Riakporhe II] because it’s the most money; the most fans, and let’s be honest, most of them will fancy it.

"Sometimes the heavyweight division gets tied up. If you look at Oleksandr Usyk now – who’s the king of the heavyweight division – you look at David Haye and what he did.

"It’s [cruiserweight] got a history of producing fantastic heavyweights, and I think you’re gonna see that with Lawrence Okolie; you’re gonna see that with Richard Riakporhe. There’s that side of it. Probably Jai Opetaia will end up at heavyweight."

However, Shalom is convinced that the cruiserweight division has lots to keep fans interested as the best competitors are willing to take each other on.

He said: "It’s a fantastic division in the sense you get to see big lads in 50-50 fights, and the fights are fairly easy to make. The four best cruiserweights [Jack Massey defeated Isaac Chamberlain to win the European and Commonwealth titles] in the country were on the card. The cruiserweight division is an interesting one right now."