Viddal Riley, the European cruiserweight champion, defends his belt in London tonight, having built a career that began with teaching YouTube stars to box.
Riley, 29, gave up boxing in his teens but found his way back to the sport through a group of influencers. He had no idea what a YouTuber was when he first encountered people sharing videos of themselves playing computer games or opening packs of trading cards, and he was baffled that hundreds of thousands would tune in to watch.
From Selling Trainers to Personal Training
Riley pulled on a pair of gloves as soon as he could walk, but a decade later his love for the sport had grown stale. It was only when he was selling pairs of trainers that a new opportunity opened up.
"I was missing a lot of things you see other kids doing or teenagers doing," he said. "My mum said I had to get a job because I wasn't going to be in the house doing nothing."
"Whilst I was working, I found a personal training course and it was the last year I could get on for free so I got my qualification. I ended up selling trainers to a guy who hired personal trainers and that's how I became a PT," Riley added.
Training KSI and Building a New Path
Riley switched jobs and was soon training the rising stars of YouTube. One streamer in particular would change the course of his life: KSI, now known as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, who helped establish influencer boxing with Riley in his corner.
"I just couldn't believe that people wanted to watch them play computer games," Riley said. "It had to be explained to me a few times but coming across influencers and content creators is one of the biggest blessings of my life."
Riley trained KSI for his blockbuster fights with Logan Paul before focusing on his own career. The decorated amateur initially joined forces with Floyd Mayweather's dad before returning to the UK.
Forging an Identity as European Champion
Now the European cruiserweight champion, Riley has had to work hard to convince people he is a fighter before he is an influencer. "When I came back to the UK I thought I would be known as the eight-time national champion and the Youth Olympian I was," he said.
"But when I came back, it was as KSI's trainer. It was a rude awakening and I was shocked; but I've got used to it and I changed it. Now it throws me off now when people say it. The majority of people now address me as who I am, which is the European champion," he added.
