Ike for president?

[Max Power]

Ike Ibeabuchi...

Certain champion were he to have kept his hands off strippers?
Or just a good prospect besting some other good ones but ultimately lacking the refinement to match the likes of a technician like Lewis?

Personally I think he had decent skills and certainly could brawl but needed some more attention.

However with the right training and management he could have become one of the greatest HW's of all time!

David Tua beat Hasim Rahman (although Rahman was the better fighter but a win is a win), Ike UD'd Tua

Vitali RTD'd against Byrd. Ike tracked down the elusive Byrd and banged him out more impressively than anybody has ever caught him.

[erics44]

you have to say byrd was peaking around that time, full of ambition and belief

Ike would have beaten wlad in a boxing fight, wlad would just hold his way to a win against him in germany tho if ike was around nowadays

[El Kabong]

Nigerian heavyweights have always showed promise and always come up short. Like would have been no different. Holyfield or Lewis would have ended him...he took too much unnecessary punishment. Chris Byrd really frustrated him until he finally caught Chris but it showed that Like could be outboxed.

[Max Power]

Yeah for his stamina and strength, did did not have the best defence! That's true. But to trade with Tua a full 12 rounds like that, must have an amazing chin!!

[Spicoli]

Ike gets pretty trumped up based largely on 2 fights. He obviously had physical quality but the damage he took with Tua helped his already in motion mental decline. I doubt seriously he had the mental make up to grind it out without a Holyfield among others.

[El Kabong]

Yeah for his stamina and strength, did did not have the best defence! That's true. But to trade with Tua a full 12 rounds like that, must have an amazing chin!!

I watched that fight and Ike was the first to start BOXING meaning he figured out he wasn't going to outslug Tua and once Ike did box a bit more he did all the better in the fight.

I just think that when he was given an opponent who was exceptional at 1 thing he could figure a way around that. Against Byrd he slugged his way out of a jam vs Tua he boxed a little but if he was to fight someone who offered BOTH like Holyfield or Lewis then who knows how he would have handled it? Also how was his footwork? Nobody knows because nobody made him use it. Nigerian heavies are often slow afoot.

I think Evander would have had a tough time early on but as the rounds went on and Evander stood in the pocket Ike would wear down sure enough. Lennox would use his roughhouse tactics on Ike and utilize his height and reach to keep Ike from retaliating and Lennox would at the very least win a decision.

Nigerian heavyweights have a tendency to have big power and SEEMINGLY quick hands but if you line them all up once they get to the very tip top level their hand speed is less than average and their punches are a bit wide, and they take too much punishment.

When I say "Nigerian heavyweights" I am speaking about: Samuel Peter, David Izon, Friday Ahunaya, Duncan Dokiwari, Teke Oruh, and Gbenga Oloukun. Ike Ibeabuchi is always left out because he had half a career, we never got to see him struggle vs the tip top of the division because he never fought there...he fought CLOSE to the top but not on the peak. Ike was at the very least a great contender and at the very most a shocking power puncher....but greatness? Who is to say if he could break the stereotype of Nigerian heavyweights. I will say that Ike was probably the greatest heavyweight Nigeria ever produced, he'd just edge out Sam Peter for that based on POTENTIAL rather than achievements because Sam achieved more.

[Master]

Ike had all the talent in the world but he was severely mentally ill so eventually he would have been sectioned, arrested or killed.

[greynotsoold]

As I recall that fight, Tua never really nailed him with a big left hook. David had a tendency to wait and load up, not letting his punches flow. So a little movement could unsettle him. He wasn't that hard to fight if you could stick to it...which could be hard to do given the knowledge of how hard he could hit you.
Byrd and Tua are both real limited guys, in terms of what they offered, very one dimensional. And Ike had Hedgeman Lewis -Curtis Cokes?- I have always confused them, but either one, they are both very boxing smart, so they could teach a guy to get around an opponent that didn't offer much adaptability.
A test would have been how he got around the reach of Lewis, how he handled getting hit trying to get in. Lewis, and some of these other guys, I don't think they offer much beyond physical advantages. Their overall skill level isn't too good, though knowing how to use your advantages is worth a lot.