Was Ike really a murderous puncher?

[IMDAZED]

On that note, Lewis beat Tua ridiculously easily, and Ike warred with him.
I think I gave Tua two rounds against Lewis and that was being generous.

You might want to keep things in context, like explaining to those who might not have seen it that by the time Lewis caught up to Tua he was a fat, overweight version of the guy who fought Ibeabuchi and helped break the record for punches thrown.

[JAB5239]

He was a TANK, like I thought Sam Peter was a tank...

And a Tank will have a chance in any era and will always cause problems...too bad Peter never became that man, Ike probably would have.



TANK= he can stick his chin out and you swing a baseball bat at it and he wont drop| and he can one hit it quit it.

Personaly, I don't think Ike would have beat Lewis, Holyfield or Vitaly. But he was a way better fighter than Sam Peter ever will be.

[JAB5239]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. When a guy wit mad potential blows his opportunity, it's easy to look back and see him as greater than he really was. Ike was tough and coulda done some big things, but he wasn't a murderous puncher or the future of ****. Just a good HW who went to waste.

........Agreed!

[JAB5239]

These poll results are a shame, Ibeabuchi was nowhere near overrated. He was the first to beat a prime Byrd and a prime Tua, and even till this day they are one of the most recognizable names in the sport. Not only that, Tua and Byrd both had over 10 more fights then he did. He knocked Byrd out with one punch, something that had never been done before or since and is also the only fighter to out slug a prime or any version of Tua.

At the time Byrd and Tua were just prospects. I don't deny Ike's potential, but as Scott said he never proved he could beat a tall fighter with a good jab. His legend has been blown way out of proportion compared to his acheivments.

[JAB5239]

On that note, Lewis beat Tua ridiculously easily, and Ike warred with him.
I think I gave Tua two rounds against Lewis and that was being generous.

In Ike's defense, I think Tua was a better fighter when they fought compared to the sluggish overweight Tua who fought Lewis.

[JAB5239]

You might want to keep things in context, like explaining to those who might not have seen it that by the time Lewis caught up to Tua he was a fat, overweight version of the guy who fought Ibeabuchi and helped break the record for punches thrown.

Lol, guess I should have read ahead.

[IMDAZED]

Personaly, I don't think Ike would have beat Lewis, Holyfield or Vitaly. But he was a way better fighter than Sam Peter ever will be.

Ironically, Ike's resume can be compared to Vitaly's despite having far, far fewer fights. And yet he's overrated. I wonder what that means for heavyweights today.

[slicksouthpaw16]

At the time Byrd and Tua were just prospects. I don't deny Ike's potential, but as Scott said he never proved he could beat a tall fighter with a good jab. His legend has been blown way out of proportion compared to his acheivments.

Ibeabuchi had not fought any recognizable names when he fought Tua, and was the underdog by a pretty heavy margin because no one even knew who he was. He only had about 15 fights as well, against far lesser opposition than both Tua and Byrd, and they both had about 10 more wins than he did. That's impressive IMO, and what he did to both of them has never been done before or since. Out slugging a peak Tua and knocking out a prime Byrd with one punch.

You might want to keep things in context, like explaining to those who might not have seen it that by the time Lewis caught up to Tua he was a fat, overweight version of the guy who fought Ibeabuchi and helped break the record for punches thrown.

Perfectly put. I think his fight with Ike may have took something out of him mentally, because i have never seen him as in shape since that fight and it seems like he was just satisfied with being a contender afterward s. The weight difference in the two fights shows the difference.

[JAB5239]

[QUOTE]

Ibeabuchi had not fought any recognizable names when he fought Tua, and was the underdog by a pretty heavy margin because no one even knew who he was. He only had about 15 fights as well, against far lesser opposition than both Tua and Byrd, and they both had about 10 more wins than he did. That's impressive IMO, and what he did to both of them has never been done before or since. Out slugging a peak Tua and knocking out a prime Byrd with one punch.

What he did was impressive. I don't think you will find many people that will argue that. But it was still only against two up and coming prospects the appeared to be on the fast track. But both were limited heavyweights. I just can't see blowing Ike up over those two wins. Did he show potential? Absolutely. Did he prove he was the future of heavweight boxing? Not in my opinion.

[slicksouthpaw16]

What he did was impressive. I don't think you will find many people that will argue that. But it was still only against two up and coming prospects the appeared to be on the fast track. But both were limited heavyweights. I just can't see blowing Ike up over those two wins. Did he show potential? Absolutely. Did he prove he was the future of heavweight boxing? Not in my opinion.

I see what you are saying, its the fact that he was the first to beat the them, the way he did beat them and the few fights that he did had. He wasn't known as being that great of an amateur so he got his experience quickly. I also wouldn't consider Byrd limited. He was the second southpaw heavyweight champion that wasn't big enough to muscle anyone, so he got by with his quickness and boxing ability. He also went on become one of the recent long reigning title holders at heavyweight before Klitschko got him again. Also, Ike had less experience than both Tua and Byrd, and when he went to jail he wasn't even in his true prime yet, which is the scary part. Tua went on to knockout about 4 world champions( even though he never won title) and Byrd had beaten some very good fighters in his reign with the IBF belt.