Lawrence Okolie reportedly out of grudge match against Richard Riakporhe

Lawrence Okolie and Richard Riakporhe

FRANK WARRENโ€™S debut with DAZN has been hit by another injury.

The British promoter will officially begin working with the sports streaming service next month joining the likes of Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing) and Oscar De La Hoya (Golden Boy Promotions).

Warren and Queensberry Promotionsโ€™ move to DAZN brings to an end their broadcasting venture with TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) which began in 2016. Their final collaboration goes ahead this Saturday night when Nick Ball defends his WBA featherweight title against TJ Doheny in Liverpool.

Warrenโ€™s first card on DAZN takes place on April 5. The event entitled โ€˜Heavy Dutyโ€™ card will be held at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. The original line-up was set to feature Dillian Whyte vs Joe Joyce in the main event and an undercard featuring Lawrence Okolie vs Richard Riakporhe and David Adeleye vs Jeamie TKV.

However, the heavyweight triple hitter lost Dillian Whyte to a finger injury last week ruling him out of the main event. While a replacement has not been made official by Queensberry the belief is Filip Hrgovic will now face Joyce.

The show has now been struck by a second fight postponement according to an article by The Ring. The report states that Lawrence Okolie, 21-1 (16 KOs), will no longer be able to fight Riakporhe after suffering an injury in training. The Okolie-Riakporhe co-main event bout reignited their old rivalry which evolved during their time in the cruiserweight division.

It remains to be seen whether Riakporhe, 17-1 (13 KOs), will still fight on the card but there will be outings for lightweight contender Mark Chamberlain as well as a professional debut for 2024 Olympian Delicious Orie.

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