BoxRec

Ike Ibeabuchi

Had talent, but I never really thought he was anything special. I am of the opinion that if he had stepped in with Lewis he would have got spanked.

And to be fair, I have never been Lewis's biggest fan.

christ_the_impaler wrote:Had talent, but I never really thought he was anything special. I am of the opinion that if he had stepped in with Lewis he would have got spanked.

And to be fair, I have never been Lewis's biggest fan.

I disagree. His fight against a prime Chris Byrd showed how talented and determined he was and the fight against Tua showed how good his conditioning and chin were. I think he would have given Lewis all he could handle and could have beaten him.

Lewis was a very good heavyweight but in every fight he had moments where he tired considerably and was prone to getting knocked out.

I don't think there was a fighter in the history of boxing who could even hurt Ike Ibeabuchi.

Seamus wrote:I don't think there was a fighter in the history of boxing who could even hurt Ike Ibeabuchi.

I don't know about that! Tua stunned Ike in the last round of their fight if I recall correctly. The only heavyweight that I have never seen hurt is Oliver McCall but even he would probably get hurt if say a prime George Foreman shot landed flush on his chin.

This one is getting old i mean with all the Klitckho "could" have been threads around why bring up another, sure Ike probably "could" have been a great fighter but he isn't his record isn't that special.

Isn't this a woulda coulda shoulda thread.

Legend...doutful...very, very good heavyweight...probable!!!

McCall was getting a beating from Lennox Lewis in there rematch. Maybe that's what caused his mental breakdown.

Kirk Johnson had Ike on the deck in sparring. His own manager said a couple of years ago that he wasn't convinced Ike could have taken over, and said Ike would struggle with Johnson.

He won a razor thin decision over Tua. Lewis defeated Tua comprehensively. He knocked out Byrd. Anyone doubt that LL would knockout Byrd?

Whats the big fuss? The dark side of Ikes character, and bad guy image. Same reasons that people obsess over Tyson. Their fascination seems to overule their rational thinking.

Sorry but boring, non-psycho heavies like Holyfield, Lewis, and Bowe would beat Ike IMO.

GUYS-

Here is a link to an interview from only 2 months ago with Ikes ex-manager Steve Munisteri. Here's a guy with no agenda, speaking frankly about a subject which he is very clued up on, having spent a lot of time observing Ike. He doesn't sound overly convinced that Ike would have taken over the division now does he?:

http://www.braggingrightscorner.com/cas ... 71606.html

... He doesn't say anything overly negative, but he is far more pragmatic and less exciteable than the Tysonites on this forum who salivate over Ike out of hatred for LL, Klit bros, etc...

the biggest stories ever told are always about the fish that got away

I take all gym stories with a grain of salt, there's a million of them out there, and quite often they contradict each other. Typically they belong in the National Enquirer.

I didn't think Ike's win over Tua was razor thin, and anyway the Tua who fought Lewis wasn't the same fighter Ike beat, he looked like he was just there for a payday.

Chris Byrd go the distance with Lennox Lewis ? Definitely not impossible. I see that as probably a 50-50 chance of him avoiding a knockout. If a prime Chris Byrd made it to the halfway point with Lewis, without serious damage, I think it would be a very interesting bout, Lewis was not a particularly dominant fighter in the second half of bouts, and Byrd was quite good. It would definitely be an interesting fight.

Seamus wrote:… I didn't think Ike's win over Tua was razor thin, and anyway the Tua who fought Lewis wasn't the same fighter Ike beat, he looked like he was just there for a payday.

People always say things like this, but isn’t it just possible that Lewis MADE Tua look like a different fighter? Remember Ike and Lewis fought entirely different styles, so it’s just possible that we might want to give Lewis a little credit for fighting a good fight against a quality HW.

Seamus wrote:Chris Byrd go the distance with Lennox Lewis ? Definitely not impossible. I see that as probably a 50-50 chance of him avoiding a knockout. If a prime Chris Byrd made it to the halfway point with Lewis, without serious damage, I think it would be a very interesting bout, Lewis was not a particularly dominant fighter in the second half of bouts, and Byrd was quite good. It would definitely be an interesting fight.

No reason to think it would be much different than the Wlad-Byrd fights. In fact, I think Lewis was a much better fighter than Wlad, so Byrd might have taken an even bigger beating from Lewis.

It’s truly amazing how little credit Lewis gets on this forum. There must be someone he beat that was actually a good fighter.

John L

I don't mean to sound like I'm knocking Lewis. It's a no brainer that he was clearly the most dominant HW of his era. It's just that almost everyone I discussed the fight with, thought it was a poor effort from Tua, he really didn't look like a guy who wanted to win a world title that night.

As for Chris Byrd, I'd definitely pick Lewis to win, but like I said, if Byrd makes it to the halfway point, I think we've got a very interesting fight.

hey guys i just have a question

why is Ike is prison what crime did he do?

Decagon wrote:He brutally raped and beat a hooker in a Las Vegas hotel room. He also kidnapped his girlfriend and his son.

wow that some fcked up stuff

I've said for a long time Ike was over-rated. Byrd was winning their fight 3-1 at the time of the stoppage (Lederman's scorecard was crap . . .at best for Ike the score was 2 Byrd, 1 Ike, one even).

Vs Tua, he won a very close fight and basically allowed Tua to sweep most of the later rounds via a stupid gameplan. Why is barely outboxing Tua now a great event? Rahman was whupping an in-shape Tua's butt in their first fight easy. Oquendo and Nicholson both also clearly outboxed Tua (much easier than Ike) until they were stopped. Ike showed good stamina vs a stationary target and a good chin, but def. not world class skills.

In other fights with journeyman types he looks far from impressive . . .he basically stalks his man down and then throws wild haymakers until his opponents fall. Def. not close to being the skilled destroyer of a Tyson.

Lewis would've beaten him by points, although it would've been a good fight.

Seamus wrote: I don't mean to sound like I'm knocking Lewis. It's a no brainer that he was clearly the most dominant HW of his era. It's just that almost everyone I discussed the fight with, thought it was a poor effort from Tua, he really didn't look like a guy who wanted to win a world title that night.
.

Im with John L on this one.

Ike and Tua just walked to the centre of the ring, disregarded boxing, and commenced brawling, tactics that earned Ike a very close split decision.

No one seems to appreciate LL came out out at range, fired out his jab and planted two solid long rights on Tuas head that got his respect, then planted some fierce rights in his rib cage. From that point on Tua pretty much realised he was outgunned. He fought a negative fight because LL didnt stand right in front of him and trade, which would have been a frickin ridiculous thing for anyone to do.

Ike Ibeabuchi did not win a split decision over Tua, it was a UD by 1-3-6 pts. I think I had him winning by 4. Yes, I know both guys through caution to the wind and just went to war, and that's precisely what impressed me so much about Ike.

Didn't you think that after Tua got hit with a couple big shots from Lewis in the first 2 rounds, that a guy reputed to have one of the greatest chins in boxing history, would have just kept coming. Instead he started showing LL respect and there went any possible chance of winning the belt.

Baby Face Finster wrote:

christ_the_impaler wrote:Had talent, but I never really thought he was anything special. I am of the opinion that if he had stepped in with Lewis he would have got spanked.

And to be fair, I have never been Lewis's biggest fan.

I disagree. His fight against a prime Chris Byrd showed how talented and determined he was and the fight against Tua showed how good his conditioning and chin were. I think he would have given Lewis all he could handle and could have beaten him.

Well yes, but Tua and Byrd both had their obvious limitations. Fast hands and strenght would overwhelm Byrd, and if one stayed away fromTua's left hook one would outscore him.

I also doubt that Ike could have mixed with the best.

Seamus wrote:Ike Ibeabuchi did not win a split decision over Tua, it was a UD by 1-3-6 pts. I think I had him winning by 4. Yes, I know both guys through caution to the wind and just went to war, and that's precisely what impressed me so much about Ike.

Didn't you think that after Tua got hit with a couple big shots from Lewis in the first 2 rounds, that a guy reputed to have one of the greatest chins in boxing history, would have just kept coming. Instead he started showing LL respect and there went any possible chance of winning the belt.

Your last comment says a lot. Tua walked through Ike's best shots all night, while Rahman and Lennox kept Tua at bay with their power. Ike had a good punch but was no KO artist.

I wouldn't say that. David Tua has a great chin and a big punch, but he's a horrible boxer. Oleg Maskaev, never known for his handspeed or footwork, totally outboxed Tua, till he got nailed in the 11th round of there bout. Against Ike it was like 2 guys each determined to show the other guy who was tougher.

Also, I know I'm going to get some serious rebuttals on this, but fact is, Vitali couldn't put Byrd away (please let's not have a I hate or love Vitali war) neither could Tua, neither could Evander, or Golota (he's a headcase but he could punch) and Wlad needed 19 rounds to finish old Byrd. Ike did it in 5, when Byrd was the fastest man in the division.

Seamus wrote:I wouldn't say that. David Tua has a great chin and a big punch, but he's a horrible boxer. Oleg Maskaev, never known for his handspeed or footwork, totally outboxed Tua, till he got nailed in the 11th round of there bout. Against Ike it was like 2 guys each determined to show the other guy who was tougher.

Also, I know I'm going to get some serious rebuttals on this, but fact is, Vitali couldn't put Byrd away (please let's not have a I hate or love Vitali war) neither could Tua, neither could Evander, or Golota (he's a headcase but he could punch) and Wlad needed 19 rounds to finish old Byrd. Ike did it in 5, when Byrd was the fastest man in the division.

It was far from a dominating performance. Ike was doing ok but mainly getting outboxed. It was Byrd's first fight against a top level opponent, he got cocky, and caught with a great punch (and still was never close to be counted out) In an immediate rematch I would've favored Byrd to win a decision. Wlad dominated him much more.