How great could Ike Ibeabuchachi have been?

Didn't he become mentally unstable after the Tua fight, something about hearing voice? Factor that in, its very hard to say how good he would have been, if he didn't get sent to prison for one thing, it would have just been something else. That said does anyone know why he is in prison so long in compared to Tyson?He had lawyers make a deal for him when he tried to meet god with a former girlfriends son in the passenger seat. He received a minor concussion but the boy had major health issues. So he had reduced kidnapping and attempted murder charges. When he did the attempted rape he was a convicted felon and Nevada threw the book at him. I remember about ten years ago he had a parole hearing and the media was hinting he might get out of jail but the parole board felt his new attitude was just a form of a long con and denied bail.

I was at Tua Ibeabuchi fight and it was electric. The President is a fighter I always thought could have been something special. Too bad he was insane.

Prolly not all that different from Tua. Put on some great fights and flash KOs but be shut down by an elite rangey boxer.

Didn't he become mentally unstable after the Tua fight, something about hearing voice? Factor that in, its very hard to say how good he would have been, if he didn't get sent to prison for one thing, it would have just been something else. That said does anyone know why he is in prison so long in compared to Tyson? Money. His sentence did seem outrageous compared to others.

Nobody knows, his level of competition was limited due to his shortened career. I'm sure he could have made noise because of his granite chin and power but we'll never know. His fight with tua is incredible and he put a savage beating on Byrd.

Didn't he become mentally unstable after the Tua fight, something about hearing voice? Factor that in, its very hard to say how good he would have been, if he didn't get sent to prison for one thing, it would have just been something else. That said does anyone know why he is in prison so long in compared to Tyson?

He definitely doesn't look a 'young' 40...there is a website up which is about him and his time in prison, set up by his mother I believe...and there's pics of him where he ballooned up and really fat and out of shape, looks a completely different guy. And I think he got deported back to Nigeria now, with probably no right to travel, so fair to say his fighting days are more than done. http://africapublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Ibeabuchi-Ike.jpg This photo was from 2013 and still looks very young here.

I don't think he had the defense to beat the top guys, but he definitely would have been SO fun to watch and it's really a damn shame that he wasted himself the way that he did.

Ibeabuchi's demise truly disappointed me. I thought he was going to be the man! What a shame...:sad2:

lewis would have dealt with him. vitali would probably eek out the decision. may of knocked out wladmir, or be knocked out himself. he never fought any tall talented fighters, so we dont know.

This topic comes up especially in the history section from time to time and I have to admit to being very guilty of watching Ibuchi with my skill meter, coulda shoulda woulda meter tongue hanging out of my mouth....Guy had the goods and was a smart, savy fighter. Very experienced and kept his cool taking Tua into a bad place....when I see Ibuchi I see a guy with perfectg size not to small not to big, punching volume, punching power, experience, and a granite chin indeed...He would have had to improve a bit on D and I think he woulda! And...any version of him looks to me like a threat. As a matter of fact! if I may indulge myself! The way Jennings managed to stay just out of range of Klitschko reminded me of something Ibuchi did with Tua...Instead of being obvious and just staying to Tua's right side Ibuchi would flirt with disaster just enough to make Tua think he might get a shot off.... Nigera has a boxing program and while Peter was a dissapointment, there have been some spectacular fighters out of Nigeria.

Yeah he was a beast... would most probably have captured a world title.

I got tickets as a graduation present to his fight vs Tua......One helluva fight!! I think he could have been one of the best of that era of heavyweights. He was a mean mofo and if you tagged him, he'd mos def tag you back! Unfortunately mental illness got him. Damn, what a shame!

guy overdosing on steroids

I think he would have been one of the top guys but not quite good enough to be champion. He lacked the dedication needed to be the best. Look where he ended up.

Completely over rated by internet kids. He wasn't anything special.

Ike was an amalgamation of Tyson and Holyfield. He would have been one of the greats for sure. Huge waste of talent!

I have no comment other than to say I've wondered the same thing. I know he's in his 40's now but he might be a young 40's, considering he hasn't had a career of getting beat on. Wonder if he'll try and fight again. He definitely doesn't look a 'young' 40...there is a website up which is about him and his time in prison, set up by his mother I believe...and there's pics of him where he ballooned up and really fat and out of shape, looks a completely different guy. And I think he got deported back to Nigeria now, with probably no right to travel, so fair to say his fighting days are more than done.

he was also a big-time steroid user. If you looked at his physique back then you'll see what I'm talking about.

Ike threw a tremendous amount of punches for a heavyweight, punched hard, and had an iron chin as proven in his victory over Tua. I believe he would've followed in the steps of Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, dropping Lennox Lewis and capturing the world title. He would've had to face Vitali, Corrie Sanders, and Wladimir. The heavyweight division might be completely different today if Ike was never imprisoned.