Rianna Doforo: “I want to be a multi-weight undisputed world champion and I believe that I can achieve that.”

Rianna Doforo: “I want to be a multi-weight undisputed world champion and I believe that I can achieve that.”

By Matthew Elliott

There are many impassioned speakers in today’s society. Individuals who inspire a room full of people just through their presence and when they stand up to talk about their subject of choice, the room is hanging on their every word, intrigued as to what they will say next and just drawn into the whole experience. When I spoke with Rianna Doforo, a fourteen-year-old amateur boxer from Liverpool, earlier this week, I will admit I felt myself feeling the same way. To hear someone at that age speak with such conviction and confidence about the path she wants to take in life and to have such belief that she will achieve her dreams, left me in no doubt that her name will be spoken about in boxing circles, and beyond, for many years to come. 

Despite the passion she now displays for the sport, Doforo admits that when she first stepped foot into a gym, it wasn’t something that had her immediately hooked. 

“My dad’s mate opened a gym and I just started going along, but at first, I hated it. I didn’t like it at all, but I had always gone to a gym with my dad and done fitness circuits which I enjoyed, so I kept going. I had always been into fighting, and I would always mess around with my dad, play fighting and stuff, but I was a bit of a girly girl at the time, and I liked singing and the choir, so the physical side wasn’t initially for me.”

Despite those reservations, Doforo persevered, and it wasn’t long before she moved on to another gym and had her first taste of in-ring action.

“I went to the first gym for just over a year and did skills bouts there before moving on. At my next gym, I had my first fight and I probably had twelve or thirteen bouts at that gym before moving on to where I am now.”

The gym to which she refers is that of former professional turned trainer/manager and promoter, Stefy Bull. Stefy announced earlier this year that Doforo had committed to the gym full-time, having spent the last couple of years in and around the environment. Doforo explains how this opportunity initially came about.

“I think I first went there just before I turned thirteen, just over a year ago I reckon. The first time I went there was for a session with Terri (Harper) as she had injured her hand at the time and was doing one-on-one sessions. I got invited back because Stefy thought the session we had was good. When I came back, he had me sparring with some of the girls and he said he respected my grind and my hustle and from there he said I can come back and start training with Terri every Friday, and it just kind of went from there.” 

For many at that age, working in such proximity to somebody with the experience of Harper could prove daunting. Doforo admits that was the case initially, but that she soon settled in.

“When I first started, I used to be so nervous going in, to be honest, I would hardly speak but now it’s normal to me, but it feels weird because for everyone else that’s like their dream, but for me it’s just normal. That is not me being arrogant but it’s nice to look back and think how far I have come since I was twelve.”

Perhaps it is no surprise that Doforo feels at such ease in that environment. After all, this is someone who spent time training at the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas; something many people, including seasoned professional boxers, can only dream of. Doforo explains how that opportunity came about.

“It’s a mad story. Years ago, my dad got a tattoo of Floyd on his leg and the bloke who did it put it on Twitter and the tweet went viral. Floyd had retweeted it and had said he wanted to pay for a plane ticket for a flight over, I think for the Ricky Hatton fight and ever since then my dad was close to them. They have kept in touch, and we went over for the second Fury Wilder fight, and I spent some time in the gym. I did some pad work with Jeff (Mayweather) and Badou Jack and Viddal Riley were training there. I went back in October of this year and Jeff was shocked at the difference in me, I’d grown up a lot in that time.”  

It was shortly after that first visit to Vegas that the Covid pandemic took hold and the gyms closed, meaning Doforo had to find a new way of maintaining her fitness and training schedule from the confines of her house, and she believes this experience proved vital in her development.

“The Covid experience (being at home) was the best thing for me in a way because I wasn’t at school so that’s when I had my biggest jump from where I was, because I was just training all of the time. That’s what got me to where I am now, just getting used to training all of the time. It was the best thing for me, it got me used to living the life. I would train in the garden, with my dad coaching me. We were just in the gym constantly because he built one in the garden for us all to use.”

The hard work has certainly paid off with Doforo winning her first National title in May, and in doing so laying to rest the frustrations from the previous year.

“Everyone thought I had won last year, and the decision went against me, which was unfortunate. It was what it was and if anything, it was better for me, because I learned from it and right from the start it taught me what the amateur game is actually like. You can get robbed that easily so if anything, I am grateful that it happened because it taught me a lesson.”

Currently fighting at featherweight, Doforo sees her long-term future at super-bantamweight. So how would she describe her style to those who have not seen her box before?

“It’s a bit of everything really, I can box on the back and front foot, but I am known for boxing on the front foot and just wiping people out. Because of that people forget that I can box on the back foot, but I guess that’s for them to find out.” 

With the experience that she has had in such a short timeframe and the exposure that has come with this, you would think that possible opponents would be lining up for their shot at her but Doforo stresses that this is her biggest challenge.

“It is almost impossible to find an opponent. We tried literally everyone for Stefy’s amateur show, and I understand, especially at this time of year, some people are overweight or not at peak fitness, but we couldn’t find anyone. When I was in my old gym, we tried fifteen different gyms for an opponent for one of our club shows and they all said no. It’s frustrating because you are not learning anything. If someone offered me a hard fight I would take it, because even if I lose, I know I’ve worked hard and I’ve probably lost to the better boxer and that’s just it; you go back to work and back to basics and focus on what you need to improve on.”

Now that Rianna is full-time with Stefy Bull, she spends her time between his gym and working at the No Limits gym in Liverpool and on a weekend, she is in Birmingham, working with former professional and former world amateur champion Frankie Gavin. As someone who has absolute clarity on what she wants to achieve in boxing, I concluded by asking what she sees as her short and long-term goals.

“In the short-term it would be to hopefully get a few more national titles in and tick over, see if we can actually get some bouts, that’s probably the main goal. And longer term I would definitely say turning professional as soon as possible, just to get that experience in. I want to be a multi-weight undisputed world champion and I believe I can achieve that. I have already been in with women that are much bigger than me and much more experienced than me, so I know I am well and truly prepared for it and that’s what I want to do, you know, have my name go down in history.”