Its very hard to say. The problem with Ibeabuchi was that the 2 elite guys whom he beat were very unusual fighters. Tua was an unusually short, unusually durable and unusually powerful heavyweight. There were no ither 5'9 heavyweights with that sort of power. Byrd was a slick southpaw with good skills who lacked power. Both Tua and Byrd were one of a kind for their era. They were unique. We have no idea how Ike would do vs a superheavyweight who could keep him at the end of his jab. How would he do vs a guy with the size, jab and power of a Lennox Lewis? How would he handle the long arms of Vitali or Wlad? A significant percentage of modern heavyweights are 6'5 guys with long arms, strong jabs and big right hands and we have no idea how Ike would do vs such guys. Ike was not particularly fast like a prime Holmes. He was a good puncher but i don't quite think he had one punch power. I think Ike would have mauled Holyfield or Tyson in 1999 or later given how faded they were. I think Ike beats Rahman, Sanders, Briggs with ease. I think Sanders has a punchers chance vs him as does Brewster. But Ike should be favoured. But again, we have no idea if he could cut the ring vs strong super heavyweights given that he was not naturally a fast footed guy and he is totally unproven here.
This is a very sensible statement that pretty much sums up the topic. In my opinion, Ike had a much better prospect than David Tua because he wasn't as limited by the circumstances as he was, and even though the fight with Tua was a draw, he probably fared much better in other fights, but we still can't be sure. What a waste...
Thanks. Ibeabuchi obviously had more arrows to his bow than Tua. He had a better jab, longer arms, was taller, etc. But as you agreed, he is totally unproven vs tall guys. With someone like Holmes, i would favour him over modern tall heavyweights because he was fleetfooted and i think he would just be able to use his fast feet to get in and out. But Ike was so stocky and heavy, i am quite skeptical of his ability to get close to tall guys.
Ike and Kirk Johnson boxed out of the same gym and apparently had 50/50 sparring sessions. Kirk was roughly the same size as Ike. I too wonder how he would have done against the likes of Lennox Lewis, Vitali/Wlad and other modern sized heavys.
Ike had two great wins, and both showed amazing qualities. The Tua win showed that he had a great gas tank and toughness. The Byrd win showed his patience and solid power. I know we didn't see him against more styles, and as some have pointed out, the guys he fought were small heavyweights, but he had the right ingredients to become a heavyweight champion. I think I would favor Wlad and Lewis over him, but I do think Ike would give Vitali a lot of trouble. He definitely had ATG material.
Arguably the biggest waste of talent in HW history would've been right in the mix alongside the Klitschkos and Lewis. Whether he'd have beaten him, who knows, but the Ike that beat Tua would have given early 2000s Wlad nightmares, and the one that knocked out Byrd could've given any of them a great fight. If he'd had the right team and hadn't lost his mind, we could easily be discussing a Hall of Famer.
I think he would’ve been exposed by a 235+ fighter who could box, but Grant probably wouldn’t have been the guy even though Ike ducked him.
Wasn't Ibeabuchi already Ring-rated Top-5 by the time he was incarcerated? Either way, I think he was already lined up to be in the mix at the top and a main player. That said, had he not begun to lose his perspective and the Grant fight had come off in '99, I fancy that he may well have faced Lewis in 2000. It's likely that HBO would have had no problem making Ike their flagship challenger at that time. Ike wouldn't have beaten Lewis, and we'd have then found out how he handled defeat. If he could get past the loss and move on, then I have no doubt that he'd have been by far the biggest threat to the Klitschkos.
