he couldn't even beat midget ass tua.
That was his first hard fight - and it was against a prime Tua who had been in with some good opponents by that stage. He was learning all the time. He went on to beat a prime Byrd, which takes skill and patience. He was showing head movement and a better boxing brain. Tua only ever had the power, but Ibeabuchi had more potential. Ike could land the punches that count.
Good chin, power, punch output and learning more as time went on. Lots of people say he wasn't much and was overrated. But it could also be argued that he's underrated and not appreciated. How many heavyweights have had the qualities he had? The chin, hand speed, power, punch output etc? People who say he was average are nuts. He'd have at least cleaned up the Ruizs, Rahmans and other cancers of the division. Lennox? Who knows.
ike is 1 of the few heavys i would favor over a klitscho.he was a big guy who could actually move,super strong,with a granite chin.he was nuts though.once demanded 1 billion for a fight