VIDDAL RILEY has welcomed the challenge of Oleksandr Usyk and David Benavidez – as he approaches his “riskiest” fight of all.

The Londoner defends his European cruiserweight title against Frenchman Seydi Coupe on Saturday at Wembley Arena.

But already his promoter Kalle Sauerland is talking up super-fights against heavyweight great Usyk, 39, and three-weight world champion Benavidez, 29.

Riley responded: “He’s putting me with the names that I want to be associated with.

“Coupe is the name for this weekend and that’s who we have to get out the way, but the names that Kalle is mentioning are the names we want to be spoken about with, those are the fights that we want to get into.

“We’re not here to operate with less than the best. We want to be in the biggest fights possible.

“So, my promoter’s job is to promote and Kalle was doing that. We’ll travel. If they come to the UK, they come to the UK, if not we’ll travel.

“Wherever the fight can take place and terms are agreed and makes sense for both parties, we make it happen.”

Riley, 28, is ranked No2 with the IBF and expected to be called into a shot at the vacant title against No1 rated David Nyika, 31.

But Riley did not want to risk falling victim to boxing’s painful politics with another stint on the sidelines by playing the waiting game.

So he makes the first defence of his European title against 29-year-old Coupe – in turn putting his guaranteed world title shot on the line.

Riley said: “All my fights are as risky as the next. There’s no fight that has less risk than another fight.

“At that moment in time, when you sign up for a fight, that’s the riskiest decision that you can make.

“So I don’t view it in that way anyway. I look at it more as an opportunity than as a risk.”

Riley set out to become world champ by 30 – giving himself till July 7 of next year to achieve it.

But he said: “I am on track. Whether that will happen or not, there are bigger powers that be. But I am right on track.

“I mean, I’ve had a mandatory fight, won a mandatory fight. I’m mandatory for the IBF, ranked highly in governing bodies, so I am right on track.

“I’ve thought it for so long man. I thought it at six years old, I thought it at eight years old, and I thought it at 12 years old.

“I’ve felt it throughout my boxing journey that I can make it to the top of the game and one day be a world champion.

“I watched boxing and watched world champions and always said to myself like ‘I can do that one day, I’m gonna do that one day.’

“So now that it’s so close it’s just exciting times man.”