There is a glint in the eye of the light-heavyweight contender Craig “Spider” Richards.

He last boxed in March, on the undercard of Lewis Crocker-Paddy Donovan in Belfast, Northern Ireland when he stopped Padraig McCrory in the eighth round at the SSE Arena.

“So I’ve heard I'll have a big fight next; I just want it ASAP; I’m in the gym ready to go,” Richards told BoxingScene.

“I want a big fight. I need to get out of ASAP. I’ve only fought once this year, that was March, nearly five, six months ago now.”

When Richards, 19-4-1 (12 KOs), says he is back in the gym, he is back in the Matchroom Gym, this time working with Tony Sims, having left for a spell with Shane McGuigan.

“It definitely feels like home,” the 35 year old said of his return. “Straight away I came back, it was just like literally being back home. Everything just felt the same, it was a bit straight away.

“My boxing came back and just being back around with the guys, because the guys are not just like… Tony’s not just a boxing trainer and John [Ryder, who assists Sims] – we’ve spent so many years together, it’s like a family here. So yeah, it felt great being back.”

There has been cause for frustration, however, for the often-positive Richards, with almost all of his divisional rivals announcing dates. Buatsi will fight Zach Parker. Willy Hutchinson has Mark Jeffers. Artur Beterbiev, whom Richards has sparred many rounds with, fights Deon Nicholson, and Anthony Yarde has been matched with David Benavidez.

“[It’s] very frustrating,” he said. “I’m sitting on the sidelines watching them all get dates; I’m throwing names in all the time; I want all the names; I’m ready; I’m in my best version of myself right now. There’s no point being the best version of myself in the gym; I want to be the best version of myself and display this to the public.

“I’ve came back [to the Matchroom gym], had one fight back; back to performing – still not even my best – but went out there, got a good stoppage, and now I want to build off that and show how good I can be again. I want to get straight in the mix; I want world titles; it’s my aim; my aspirations; that’s what I came into the game for. I’ve done all the domestic stuff; southern area; won the British; WBA continental; International. All of them stuff.

“Now it’s reality. I’ve come in the game to get those world titles, that’s what I’m aiming for; that’s why I'm in the gym every day, learning, training; being diligent in my work, and preparing for the guys at the top now.”

What might have been an issue previously is no longer the same barrier. The likes of Hutchinson, Yarde, and Buatsi are all being looked after by Queensberry Promotions, but given their increasing willingness to work with Matchroom, few fights are off the table.

“I’ve noticed a lot of them all going over to that side of the street,” Richards smiled. “But I know that [Frank] Warren and Eddie [Hearn] have got a good relationship at the moment, so I don’t think any of these fights are impossible to make with the relations they’ve got, because they can co-promote shows now, or they can put fighters on each other’s shows, especially with the whole DAZN thing. 

“The whole problem was obviously with TV networks. Everyone’s got obligations to fulfil their network rights, and now they’re on the same TV network, they can work together.”

Richards’ dream is to run it back with Bivol, who outscored him by two margins of 115-113 and a card of 116-112 when they boxed in 2022. Bivol has gone on to be crowned as one of the best fighters of the era, winning all of the belts at 175. Two fights later, he defeated Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

“I would love to get it back obviously with Bivol, I just feel like stylistically it was a fight I could have won; [I was] inexperienced at the time; started off a little bit slow; still came one round, half a round short,” he said. “He’s a very good fighter. I’ve mixed it with these guys, and behind the scenes with Beterbiev, I’ve sparred endless rounds with him through his camp for Bivol, but I just know at this point now I’m ready to fight. It’s not anyone specific, but I’m ready to fight the guys at the top.”

Another fight on the slate is the all-Manchester affair between Lyndon Arthur and Bradley Rea, the European champion, on November 1.

“I asked for both of them as well before that fight was made, and they both said they were going their own separate routes, and their separate routes happened to be together,” Richards added.

“But it’s a good fight at the end of the day; two good operators; I can't call it. You’d probably favor Brad at the moment, the form they’re in, but you can’t write Lyndon off. He’s a good boxer.”

Richards heavily favors Buatsi over Parker, and that he could get a stoppage, and he is keen to see the fireworks promised in the November clash between Benavidez and Yarde on November 22.

“Very good fight,” said Richards. “It’s a big step up for Yarde. Benavidez, monster in his own right at the weight; he’s tall; he overwhelms his fighters with work rate; people say about his last two performances he didn’t get a stoppage at light heavyweight, but if we’re looking at the guys he’s in there with, [David] Morrell and [Oleksandr] Gvozdyk, we all know [Gvozdyk] gave Beterbiev his hardest fight and he put Adonis Stevenson in a coma to win the WBC title, so we know he’s no joke, and Benavidez walked through him as well, so we know Benavidez isn’t a joke. So it’s a big step up for Yarde.”

They are the type of fights Richards awaits.

“I’m raring to go, I’m itching, I’m literally clucking, it’s very hard for me right now,” he smiled again. “I just want to get my hands on someone and get in the ring now.”