Boxing
Riley ready to Master biggest challenge yet against European champ Mateusz
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Viddal Riley is ready for the biggest challenge of his career when he locks horns with Mateusz Masternak tonight.
With 56 bouts under his belt, 38-year-old Masternak has vastly more experience than the undefeated Riley, who has notched seven knockouts in 13 victories.
But the British cruiserweight champion is determined to rip the European title from the Pole’s grasp at London’s O2 Arena, live on DAZN PPV, as he edges closer to a world title tilt.
Riley, 28, told DAZN News: “I always believed I'd be a world title contender. But fighting for the European title? No, I didn’t think about it.
“I think a lot of the journey, just as it's going on, you end up in certain places. But it's all the right steps to where I did believe I could be.
“He’s the biggest challenge of my career to date, for sure. But it's my job to not make it look that way.”
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Promoter Kalle Sauerland shares Riley’s confidence that Masternak is simply the latest obstacle to overcome on the journey to the top.
He said: “I think he'll fight for a world title this year. Masternak, who I've also promoted, doesn't do anything spectacular. But he never does anything bad.
“You know exactly what you're going into. You're going to go deep waters with him. For Viddal, this is a fight where he will learn what world class is.
“Masternak is a world-class cruiserweight. He's been around for a long, long time. He’s beaten some of the best and mixed with some of the best. So for Vidal, this is a real measuring stick.
“I'm a promoter, I'll talk to you all day long about how I'm going to make the world title for him next. But we're really going to see on Saturday how far Viddal can go. I believe he goes all the way.”
With MF Pro plotting his course, Riley has never been happier. And while it may be a cliché, a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter.
He added: “This is the best it's been in my professional career so far, being with MF Pro. You just feel the support of the team. Everyone's got the same goal.
“Everyone wants to make the goal as easy as possible for me to achieve. And I'm just going to do my part and deliver the results."
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