Stabbed in the chest in a mobile phone robbery, the knife caught his artery and surgeons had to saw through his sternum to stem the internal bleeding.
A few miles from the south London estate where the stabbing took place, life has come full circle, as the 34-yearold Riakporhe prepares to fight Chris Billam-Smith at Selhurst Park.
Riakporhe has crammed a remarkable amount into the intervening years: boxer, Burberry model, sometime dining companion of Naomi Campbell, close friend of Madonna and head of an eponymous foundation to combat knife crime.
Pondering what his 15-year-old self would have said of his subsequent trajectory, he said: "I would have said, 'What movie are you talking about?' If someone had told me what's happened, I would say, 'What is this nonsense"" Growing up on the Aylesbury Estate, where "everyone was committing crimes to get by", he got in with the wrong people, although the stabbing was more a mischance of circumstance than any bad decision making.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Andy vindicates bold call and fuels dream of a 'special' farewell
BEYOND the three Grand Slam titles, the two Olympic gold medals and the Davis Cup heroics, Andy Murray has built a career on making the improbable happen.
DALEY BACK IN MEDALS WITH SUPER SILVER
GAMES VETERAN AND WILLIAMS SECOND TO CHINA
After party at Ronaldo's in 2016, I hope Mbappe's around this time, says Clarke
THE last time Joe Clarke won Olympic gold, he ended up at a house party in former Brazil striker Ronaldo’s Rio de Janeiro home.
Happy tears after silver show Peaty has won his biggest fight
AS HE opened his eyes this morning, Adam Peaty fully expected the hangover to kick in.
Tesco sticking to £1bn share buyback as Goldman advises
TESCO today confirmed plans to continue with a £1 billion share buy back programme that should benefit investors.
Heineken takes hit on China brewer
GLOBAL brewer Heineken took a huge hit today from slowing Chinese markets and Europe’s washout summer, leaving its shares feeling the chill.
Firms tell Labour to block 'Beeching style' post cuts
A BUSINESS coalition representing more than 10,000 small and medium size firms today urged the Labour government to block “Beeching style” cuts to postal services.
Trad wifedom is a hoax, of course - but our obsession with it is deeply unedifying
THE obsession with trad wives goes on. Many yearnings meet in them but the principle one is misogyny, just not in the way you might think.
Edna O'Brien mastered the art of reinvention
THE opening sentence of Girl, Edna O’Brien’s last novel is, I think, unforgettable: “I was a girl once, but not any more...” And from there O’Brien, who died on Saturday, takes the reader into the unimaginable horror of the abduction and rape of the Chibok schoolgirls by the Islamist group, Boko Haram.
This ogre of a play needs to go to a land far, far away
SHREK just keeps on giving, doesn’t he? The DreamWorks ogre first appeared in 2001, with a fifth film in his franchise just announced — and don’t forget the Puss in Boots spin-offs.