Riley and Nnamdi put on a fantastic show on Knockout Night

Viddal Riley (right) throws a punch at Austine Nnamdi during the Knockout Night at FIVE Palm Jumeirah on Friday. - Shihab

It was not the fight everyone had waited to see as Mo Ali Bayat had to pull out at the last minute because of an injury. He was quite obviously downcast as he couldn't go up against the undefeated cruiserweight British fighter Viddal Riley.
But the man who replaced him - Nigerian Austine Nnamdi more than made up for Mo Ali's absence by putting on a great show. 
The headlining bout went the full distance of four rounds before Riley won by an unanimous decision on Knockout Night at FIVE Palm Jumeirah, late on Friday night.
A good crowd packed the specially set up arena in the ballroom of FIVE Palm Jumeirah and they were treated to 13 bouts that also included four kickboxing fights.
And Riley and Nnamdi went toe to toe on the night, mixing attack with an equal dose of defence. It was a fair fight with Nnamdi matching Riley move for move before all three judges scored 40-36 in the latter's favour.
"Not many (boxing and kickboxing) events happen in the Middle East and we are trying to change that. So, I want to thank everyone for coming out, first of all," Riley said ringside, after the bout.
And the 21-year-old gave credit to his opponent, who agreed to fight at the last moment, and also stood up well over the course of the bout.
 "He's explosive, he's dynamic, he's unorthodox so you can't take risks with fighters like that. I'm a heavy guy and in our division, any shot can change anything. So, as much as I can knock people out, tonight, I showed I can box too. I also want to thank him for coming in at short notice as well. He didn't have to do that. He helped save the show and I appreciate that he took me to the distance," said the Londoner.
The win took Riley's record to three wins from three. In his previous bout, featuring on the main card of Manny Pacquiao vs Adrien Broner, Riley had knocked out American Mitchell Spangler in just 33 seconds in the first round.
It was a special fight for Riley who had his father in his corner for the first time. He also dedicated the win to his late friend.
"This was the first time I boxed with my dad being in my corner so I want to show my appreciation to him and also to my friend who recently passed away. I want to dedicate this win to him," he added.
Meanwhile, the evening had begun with Dutchman Anthony De Jubin winning by a unanimous decision over India's Pushkar Pundalik in the lightweight division with all three judges scoring 36-10.
Britain's Ashley Theopane won by TKO over Jun Paderna of the Philippines, with the referee stopping the bout on one minute and seven seconds in the second round.
The next bout, a kickboxing match-up between American Ross Levine and Greece's Stelios Tasmalidis, also saw a TKO with the former prevailing after the referee stopped the fight on two minutes and 35 seconds in the second round.
And then, it was a third consecutive TKO with Swedish boxer Oscar Ahlin proving way too strong for Arthit Bunphloeng, dispatching the Thai in one minute and 10 seconds in the opening round.
A fourth TKO followed much later with Greece's Giorgos Veronis winning in one minute and 20 seconds in the third round, over American Faze Sensei, in a kickboxing bout.
Dubai-based Irishman Rohan Date had Thailand's Wanphihit Siriphana on the canvas twice, the second time being the last as the referee stopped the bout on two minutes and 12 seconds in the second round.
Greece's Antonis Stroutzalis was no match for Bryce Mills with the American winning in two minutes and two seconds in round one, in a kickboxing tussle.
In a bout that took two years in the making, Dubai-based Turkish Fatih Ulusoy won by a unanimous decision (39-38) over Syria's Abdulmanem Kabbani.
In the feature kickboxing fight, Greece's Christos Avramidis wrapped it up in one minute and 51 seconds in the first round against Turkey's Atakan Arslan.
james@khaleejtimes.com