Viddal Riley was set to face his toughest opponent yet in Isaac Chamberlain on the undercard of Adam Azim’s first world title challenge. The fight has since been cancelled, with Chamberlain claiming an injury; though, in a new video, Riley casts suspicion on the validity of this claim.
Viddal Riley, now 12-0, has had much criticism throughout his career. Despite being a highly-touted British cruiserweight, Riley has not fought opposition on the level most fans want, with his best win to date coming over then 17-1 Mikael Lawal, who had only lost once before, to Isaac Chamberlain.
Chamberlain holds a record of 16-3, losing only to Lawrence Okolie, Chris Billam-Smith, and, in his most recent outing, Jack Massey. Chamberlain ran a close fight with Massey, and would be Riley’s toughest test to date.
That said, Riley has demonstrated his ability to fight higher level opposition, and was the betting favourite.
Viddal Riley Suspicious of Chamberlain’s Injury
It was announced recently that the fight was no longer going ahead, with Chamberlain withdrawing due to injury.
In a video on his YouTube channel, which boasts 68.5K subscribers, Riley spoke on the withdrawal. Riley states that initially he was told Chamberlain ‘received a cut in sparring’. Since then, he was told ‘he’s not cut, he’s got damaged to his eyeball’.
‘There’s no evidence of this’, Riley says, ‘This guy wasn’t ready, that’s the bottom line’.
Riley and his YouTube partner, Leon Wills, then point to Chamberlain’s attitude in the build-up to the fight, comparing his usual loud nature and banter with his more recent quiet composure, which Riley says displays ‘shookness’.
He concludes, ‘As far as I’m concerned, there’s no cut, there’s no damaged retina. Until we see the proof, you’re a liar.’
Riley is rumoured to be facing Chev Clarke on the Chris Eubank Jr. vs Conor Benn undercard.
Follow NoSmokeBoxing on X.
