Undefeated fighters Viddal Riley (15-0-0, 7 KOs) and Seydi Coupe (14-1-0, 9 KOs) faced off last night at the OVO Wembley Arena in London, with Riley’s EBU European cruiserweight title on the line. Riley came out on top by unanimous decision after 12 rounds in which he boxed with authority and determination. The scorecards read 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109, confirming an impressive performance by the Englishman, who made excellent use of his superior hand speed to land punches and establish a comfortable lead over Frenchman Coupe on the judges’ scorecards.
The opening round immediately highlighted the good footwork of both fighters, who moved comfortably around the ring and avoided presenting stationary targets. Riley was the more aggressive of the two, while Coupe adopted a more cautious approach. Both were highly mobile but equally reluctant to take the initiative, wary of leaving themselves open to their opponent’s counters.
It was not until the third round that the fight really began to heat up. A beautiful right hand from Riley, fast and accurate, found its target. Coupe responded shortly afterwards with a right of his own, but after momentarily pausing his attack, he was caught by the champion’s counter.
Riley began making greater use of his jab, frequently looking to target the body. In the fourth round, Coupe attempted a one-two combination, throwing a jab followed by a straight right, but was promptly punished by Riley’s right hand.
Although Riley was not visibly outclassing his opponent, he was clearly faster with his hands and more responsive on his feet. Coupe is technically well-schooled, but lacks speed and was often a fraction of a second behind during close-range exchanges. His work rate was also too low: he tended to leave the initiative to his opponent and responded far too often with single punches, failing to follow up on his own attacks.
In the sixth round, a prolonged series of jabs from Coupe allowed the Englishman to come in with another right hand. The champion scored again with a beautifully weighted jab at the end of a fine jab-cross-jab combination. This was arguably Viddal Riley’s best round of the fight. Another right hand found its target following a combination to the body and head. Towards the end of the round, the two fighters narrowly missed each other with simultaneous straight rights.
Overall, the two men displayed similar styles, but the Englishman proved to be slightly more explosive and accurate with his punches.
Probably aware of the deficit he had accumulated, Coupe stepped up his aggression in the seventh round, taking the fight to his opponent more assertively. Riley, however, answered every attack in kind, highlighting the difference in speed between the two. The seventh proved another difficult round for the Frenchman, with Riley landing repeatedly: first with a left uppercut-right hand combination, then with his jab and finally with a right hook.
The exchanges became increasingly intense. In the eighth round, a fine left hook from Coupe prompted an immediate response from Riley, also with a left hook. After Coupe put together a nice combination finished with an uppercut, Riley once again answered with his left hook. Even in the more closely contested rounds, the Englishman consistently did just that little bit extra to convince the judges to award him. Coupe’s low work rate and lack of accuracy certainly did not help him find his way through his opponent’s guard.
Close-range exchanges, in particular, favoured the more active and responsive fighter, who was able to put together combinations rather than relying on isolated punches.
The fight then moved towards a frantic final round, in which Coupe, visibly worn down by the twelve rounds, threw everything he had left at Riley but failed to land the decisive punch he desperately needed.
Viddal Riley therefore successfully defended his EBU European cruiserweight title with a solid performance, boxing confidently and in control from the opening bell to the final round.