How Riley went from KSI's trainer to world-title dream

Viddal Riley is set to defend his European cruiserweight title this Saturday at Wembley Arena against the unbeaten Frenchman Seydi Coupe. The 29-year-old Londoner enters the bout with a professional record of 14 wins, including seven knockouts.

Riley's rise to mainstream attention was previously linked to his role training the YouTuber KSI for fights against Logan Paul and Joe Weller. While acknowledging this period was part of his story, Riley told BBC Sport that he did not want to be known solely as a trainer of a famous person and has worked to establish his own credentials.

His boxing background includes entering a gym at age six and becoming a national champion at 11. He also captained England and represented Team GB, winning eight amateur titles before meeting KSI at age 19. Following his amateur career, he has since secured English, British, and European titles.

Brief written by urgent.news from BBC Sport, Yahoo Sports — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.