So If Ike hadn't gone down the dark path, and carried on and got himself a crack at Wlad Klitschko s title? Pre Steward Wlad loses a unanimous decision to Ike imo.
Hard to speculate on how good Ike actually was. He held up well vs Tua (who was slow of hand and foot) Ike was impressive off the Byrd fight and from that he was dangerous and strong. The tricky part was his mental strength which failed him in the real world and would have eventually emerged inside the ring. If we leave out the cracks in his armor (mental strength) he had an excellent chance to beat Vlad and Lennox Lewis, among others, however if he had the ear biting Tyson like breakdown once frustrated or worse it would be because of his weakness (mental weakness) and we saw fighters like Tyson or worse = Andrew Golata suffer from that. So based off Ike's breakdown outside the ring, my hypothesis would be it would show up in the ring. I would speculate to say while some of these modern day "strength enhancers" help the body better, they don't always help the mind.
I know what you're saying,Bummy. It's hard to predict how guys are gonna react in the ring, especially those with 'issues '. I'm going to put this version of Ike in the same frame as when he beat Tua. A tough guy, very strong, able to throw crazy amounts of leather and keep it up. That Ike would absolutely have beaten Wlad back then imo.
The problem i have with this is Ike beat a short fighter that came straight ahead and a blown up super middleweight that couldn't punch. Wlad was neither of those things. Wlads chin is always a question mark. But could Ike get past that telephone pole like jab? And if he did how is he going to react to that big right hand? It took him 9 rounds to get rid of journeyman Everton Davis. And while he dominated that fight he didn't look particularly special in my opinion. Davis just didn't have the tools to fight back. Wlad at that stage of his career had a wealth of experience and was a polished and powerful fighter. He wouldn't get into a slugging match with Ibeabuchi so I find it very difficult to say the Ike that fought Tua would beat him. Ike certainly has a chance, but I think I'd favor Wlad for the reasons I've outlined.
No worries I can see how quite a few pick Wlad, he's the more proven fighter by a long mile. It's a real shame this fight didn't take place and Ike could have kept on the straight road.
Ike was always too slow to deal with Wlad in my opinion. If he could get him to exchange then maybe he might do something. But I think even pre-Steward Wlad was too complete a boxer for a slowcoach like Ike to handle.
It's entirely possible Wlad uses his length, jab and controls the distance to take a UD. On the flip side one good hook from Ike wobbles Wlad and he's done. Probably not a wrong answer here just personal preference.
I would go with Ike in this one. I have no belief in Wlad's chin and engine at this point of his career. But Ike was largely untested, so it's more of a 50/50 fight.
I not only think Wlad wins, pre or post Mannie, I think he stops Ike and brutally. Ike's aggression is perfect for the young, less jab and grab version of Wlad who had monstrous power and a great read of range and accuracy. Wlad ko or tko by the 8th
