Ike Ibeabuchi - What Could Have Been?

Ike compiled a record of 20-0 (15 KO's) when his career was cut short at the age of 26 and was imprisoned for various matters.

A troubled man with mental health issues (not defending his crimes) but still managed to carve out a good run.

His fight against Tua showed he had the stamina to match anyone at HW and Bryd and Tua are impressive names on his resume for a relatively short career.

The big 'if' question but if he hadn't gone to prison, do you think he would have become a World Champion and how far do you think he could have gone?

Almost certainly would have picked up a title I think, especially post Lewis and during Vitalis hiatus.

Not convinced he did enough to show he could beat Vitali or Wlad V2 but outside of that he was more than capable. Considering some of the other guys that held titles 2000-2010 then its seems hard to imagine Ibeabuchi would come up short.

Agree with manos, though I do think Ibeabuchi would have had a pretty good chance of upending Wlad.

Vitali may have just about had the wood on him, but Wladimir? Personally I think Ibeabuchi would have absolutely blitzed him, particularly his first incarnation lasting up until 2006.

I think it goes without saying that Ibeabuchi would have almost certainly picked up a world title had his career not been derailed. We all know about his power and pressure, and his ability to creep inside a lumbering jab (hence why I think Wladimir gets relegated to a Heavyweight footnote if he ever comes across the Nigerian), but what people often forget is that Ibeabuchi could actually box with the best of them, too. He had the hand speed and stamina to unsettle anyone and, Lewis and Vitali aside, I really don't see any Heavyweight from the last ten to twelve years who could have beaten him.

Probably beats Wlad pre 2006. After that, Im not sure. If Wlad handles Haye well then I would be inclined to say he improves enough to beat Ibeabuchi, or at least warrant favourite status. If Haye beats him, especially convincingly then probably fair to say Ibeabuchi does too even more emphatically.

Difficult to know with Ibeabuchi also as there is some suggestion that his mental health problems were linked to the Tua fight where he absorbed some heavy shots. If I remember rightly its after this fight he begins to complain of headaches and demons etc and generally goes insane.

Has TRUSS done an article yet on whether or not it was everyone's else's fault that Ike went totally underpants-on-your-head mental?

Not yet....

Where's your compassion Dave.....

No class as usual....

Blah blah blah.....

Cheers Union...still, you can't blame Ike for kidnapping strippers/call girls and taking them off to parts unknown with the firm intention of behaving in a less than chivalrous manner...especially when there are millions of other innocent people to blame for it

It's a real disappointment that Ike had the problems he had. I watched the Tua fight not that long ago and he really looked impressive, even more so when viewed against some of the dross served up right now. He would absolutely walk through some recent title challengers. Solid punch, solid chin, good skills and, for a heavyweight, exceptional stamina. He looked as fresh in the last round as he had throughout the fight.

I know Tua didn't really reach the level that people originally expected, but he was unbeaten and dangerous before Ike turned him over. Ibeabuchi certainly showed much more willingness to engage with Tua than Lennox Lewis did later on.

Manos, I believe he would have beaten both incarnations of Wlad. The recent vintage of Wlad would obviously be more difficult but I think Ibeabuchi would get the job done. It seemed like he had a genuine lack of fear and I would fancy his chances with this version of Wlad much more than I fancy David Hayes.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:It's a real disappointment that Ike had the problems he had. I watched the Tua fight not that long ago and he really looked impressive, even more so when viewed against some of the dross served up right now. He would absolutely walk through some recent title challengers. Solid punch, solid chin, good skills and, for a heavyweight, exceptional stamina. He looked as fresh in the last round as he had throughout the fight.

I know Tua didn't really reach the level that people originally expected, but he was unbeaten and dangerous before Ike turned him over. Ibeabuchi certainly showed much more willingness to engage with Tua than Lennox Lewis did later on.

Manos, I believe he would have beaten both incarnations of Wlad. The recent vintage of Wlad would obviously be more difficult but I think Ibeabuchi would get the job done. It seemed like he had a genuine lack of fear and I would fancy his chances with this version of Wlad much more than I fancy David Hayes.

Ibeabuchi was a much better heavyweight than Haye for my money but I think if Wlad beats Haye it should go some to eliminating the idea that he cant deal with speed/power.

I see it being very difficult to outbox Wlad to a points win. I dont think he would fear Wlad, but Im not sure how well he copes with a top jab and Wlads style. Its difficult to say because while on paper he had the attributes needed to beat him, he never really came up against a fighter in the same mould as Wlad. Tua and Byrd are the only really top names on his record and they dont bear much resemblance. Either way though I cant say I would be too surprised at the outcome.

With fighters like Ibeabuchi who showed plenty of promise and never lost its sometimes easy to overcompensate how good they would have been whereas with established long reigning fighters you can pick holes and weaknesses here and there. The manner he beat Tua and Byrd in was impressive and his performances indicated he had potential but I am reluctant to stretch it to the extent where he beats the two best heavies of this era. Tua at the end of the day has to be one of the most overrated heavies that came onto the scene. He was prime to be outboxed and I never quite get the hype about him outside his power. Byrd was better but still a full level or two below the Klitschkos.

When you look at the division its pretty safe to say Ibeabuchi would win a title but I wouldnt go as far as saying he dominates or bets the best in it.

have to say if ike was about now i give him a just a chance against vitali. would give him the edge over haye and wlad. and think he would destroy pretty much anyone else. think valuev, adamek, holyfield, arreroa, fury, chisora, perez, solis, povetkin or anyone else who else fighting for recognition at the moment would end up on the canvas.

also i can't beleive the treatment of him in the byrd fight. he was complaining about seeing demons, having headaches etc yet was still convinced to fight. whoever the promoter was should be ashamed and punished.

I read somewhere that Maloney wanted Lewis to have no part of Ike. He was considered as too dangerous. I can see why. A fight between Ike and Haye would be a walkover for Ike. Too powerful and skilled imo. I believe he would take Wlad out and beat Vit late on. Ike was too busy and had exceptional skills which would have countered the style of K2.

As for Lewis, for me it would have been a pick'em fight.

azania wrote:I read somewhere that Maloney wanted Lewis to have no part of Ike. He was considered as too dangerous. I can see why. A fight between Ike and Haye would be a walkover for Ike. Too powerful and skilled imo. I believe he would take Wlad out and beat Vit late on. Ike was too busy and had exceptional skills which would have countered the style of K2.

As for Lewis, for me it would have been a pick'em fight.

Az, he had the skills, but are wins over Tua and Byrd enough to justify a "pick'em" fight with Lewis. For me, Lewis would start as a prohibitive favourite over Ike. Lewis, at his best, was great at controlling both the pace of the fight and the distance. He had a great jab when he chose to use it, which I think he would against Ike, and terrific power. I would fancy him to comfortably outpoint Ike, even though I do rate the potential he had and he was clearly a dangerous fighter. Lewis is a cut above anyone he fought and a cut above Wlad for me.

Think its far too generous to Ibeabuchi to just assume he beats the best of the next era based on what he did.

Fairly huge step up in class between Tua/Byrd and the Ks/Lewis. Never came across a fighter of their calibre or a style similar to theirs so its massively speculative and I believe too much of a stretch.

I dont think he went mental through the Tua fight, i think he will of had an history of problems, i read somewhere he did too. Could of been a world champ though, without a doubt. Wouldn't be so sure about him with Wlad though, Wladimir, now that is one seriously UNDERRATED fighter.

the reason i give him a win over wlad based on what i saw is he has good boxing ability so wouldn't be pushed all over by him, and secondly has a iron chin, so isn't going to be caught by one shot. think ike definetly had the power to KO wlad and would box his way inside and get that oppertunity.

against vitali however im unsure. as said not seen enough to make such a big call but would fancy him ahead of most of vitali's recent opponents

the reason i give him a win over wlad based on what i saw is he has good boxing ability so wouldn't be pushed all over by him, and secondly has a iron chin, so isn't going to be caught by one shot. think ike definetly had the power to KO wlad and would box his way inside and get that oppertunity.

against vitali however im unsure. as said not seen enough to make such a big call but would fancy him ahead of most of vitali's recent opponents
..................
I think he's tailor made for either Klitschko, especially Wlad who destroyed Peter twice, he was dropped and got up 3 times to outbox him. Underrated fighter, one of the most underrated fighters of the past 30 years imo.

I think people get too carried away with Ike. He has 2 wins of any note. He knocked out one of the worst heavyweight champions of all time in Chris Byrd and edged a narrow decision over a solid contender in David Tua. To say that he would go on to beat the best Heavyweights of the past decade is a bit of a stretch for me.

Ike was dangerous and a big risk against any good heavyweight. Remember that both Byrd and Tua were undefeated contenders on their way up. One was a brutal KO artist and the other a slippery boxer with a good defence.

Ike boxed and punched the slugger and clinically destroyed the boxer. He showed in those two fights that he was able to adjust - he could be both the KO artist or had the skillset to back himself up as a boxer. It was 1999 by the time he'd beaten Chris Byrd, which meant that Lewis and Holyfield were busy scrapping over the major belts. Ruiz was still working his way up to be number 1 contender with the WBA, Tua was knocking over a few nobodies en route to his 2000 showdown with Lennox, so Ike would most likely have been matched with a few fringe contenders:

The possibilities could have been someone like Golota, Ruiz, Rahman, maybe even Moorer and possibly then Holyfield for the then vacant WBA belt if he'd got through Ruiz, which I believe he'd have had no trouble doing. However, matching him up against Holyfield? It would have been interesting as Ike didn't take a backward step much. He could of course have gone for the WBO strap instead against either Byrd or Wlad in late 2000.

It's all conjecture of course. Would he have held his nerve against the elite heavies? Maybe, as he was certainly not shy in coming forward on a big occasion. Did he have the skills? Again, he was an unfinished project, a rough diamond. The potential was there but is something that will remain an unknown. His star shone brightly for a bit, but his demons got the better of him.

Wonder if anyone's tried to beat him up in prison? If so, how did they fare???

maybe he is overrated. but wlads last opponent was going to be chisora and vitalis last opponent was solis and i'd back ike against either of those and give him a much better chance than those 2, at beating them.

after the byrd win ike was offered $700,000 to fight jeremy williams and $1m to fight micheal grant (undeafted at the time)

Ike was a great fighter and i feel he would give a good account of himself against any heavyweight of the last 20 years. I've no doubt he would have went on to become a champion.

eddyfightfan wrote:after the byrd win ike was offered $700,000 to fight jeremy williams and $1m to fight micheal grant (undeafted at the time)

Interesting Eddy, would have fancied him to beat both but Grant as you say, was undefeated at the time, would have been a good fight.

imagine been the ref for the ike/grant fight..... now theres 2 fighters with hardly a sane brain between them.

I loved watching Ike fight and I was on the bandwagon at the time. I was probably driving the wagon.

The man was certainly a 'loose cannon' and could have done jail time after the Tua fight, his misdemeanours’ kept him out of the ring for a year.

The Tua fight is a classic and at the time held the record for most punches in a Heavyweight fight. Tua was expected to beat the then relatively unknown Nigerian. Tua as is well documented brought a great chin and awesome power to any fight in that period. Ike withstood the power and traded blow for blow with the Samoan - which was pretty unthinkable and not the chosen way to try and beat the 'Tuamanator'.
But Ike succeeded where many Heavyweights failed, he not only dealt with the power but won and in a close fight, I scored for Ike.

His other significant win was over the skilful, quick and defensively sound Chris Byrd. Byrd had just beaten Ross Purrity and a year later would get a win over Vitali Klitschko.
Byrd's style wasn't pleasing to watch but it was largely affective and he frustrated Ike like he did to most opponents.
I remember Ike trying to 'hunt' him down and then returning to his corner and snarling with frustration. Ike only got madder and more determined and blitzed Byrd in the 5th round. Byrd kept getting up but had no idea where he was or who he was.

Those two wins are impressive by any standard and they served notice to the division that Ike Ibeabuchi was a main player. Ike proved he could deal with two completely contrasting styles.

Had Ike not completely lost his head, I could see him being narrowly out boxed by Lennox Lewis but I have no doubt whatsoever that he would have beaten every other Heavyweight around including the Klitschko's.

Ike brought to the ring a Great chin, decent power, heart, determination and decent skills. He could and probably would have been ‘King’.

DAVE667 wrote:Has TRUSS done an article yet on whether or not it was everyone's else's fault that Ike went totally underpants-on-your-head mental?

Made me laugh so hard I've now got 3 women starring at me in my office.......well done sir

Small Time wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:Has TRUSS done an article yet on whether or not it was everyone's else's fault that Ike went totally underpants-on-your-head mental?

Made me laugh so hard I've now got 3 women starring at me in my office.......well done sir

Just don't start locking them in closets like Ike did.