If there was an eight man tourney in the nineties consisting of the best heavyweights to not win a title in that era, who would be involved, and who would you bet on winning? This is mostly hypothetical and would involve every man being at their absolute 90s prime. This also wouldn't include people who had won a title in the 80s (Holmes, Witherspoon), or people who would go on to win a title in the 2000s (Wlad, Briggs). Ibeabuchi, Tua, Ruddock, Golota... Who you got?
I’ll play, but I’m going to throw the WBO title out with the bath water as it wasn’t established or regarded as legit until a bit later (maybe in some divisions it had a bit of merit but not heavyweight). Frankly there’s not as many of these guys as you’d think if we eliminate the 1980s ‘lost generation,’ the rising guys who would make a mark in the 2000s and the more legit belt-holders. I’ll go with it playing out like this: First round: Shannon Briggs def. Ike Ibeabuchi David Tua def. Ray Mercer Herbie Hide def. Andrew Golota (first upset of sorts) Tommy Morrison def. Michael Grant Semifinals: Briggs def. Tua Hide def. Morrison Final: Briggs def. Hide
Pat why do you think Briggs beats Ibeabuchi just out of curiosity ? I think Ibeabuchi has the chin and stamina to outlast Briggs early onslaught and stop him in the 2nd half of the fight. Briggs had poor stamina due to his asthma I can't see him dealing with Ibeabuchi's pace.
Hm. These are some odd picks to win in my book. Ibeabuchi wins out over Briggs. Mercer could totally outbox Tua prime to prime, and outwork him to a decent SD. Hide - Golota would be 50/50, with Hide likely putting down Golota early due to the Pole's slow start, but I believe that Golota could probably come back to win and bust out Hide. The winner of Morrison - Grant is obvious. Ibeabuchi - Mercer would be one hell of a slugfest with a decision likely going to the former due to his insane punch stats and his general better technique. Golota - Morrison is a tough one, and I could see it being a good back and forth fight, and I could see either man winning on their best night. The only thing is, Morrison has a worse track record of getting blown out than Golota does, so I'd favor his punches to break the Duke's jaw of glass and win comfortably. And Ibeabuchi - Golota plays out mostly how you think it does, though would still be a decent brawl.
I think Briggs was mentally stronger and I think he perseveres through any fatigue that shows — in short on that part, I think he might often appear to be tired but he knew how to fight through it and work through it. I also think the shorter-armed Ike would have trouble engaging him at the kind of pace he’d prefer, so if Briggs is able to use his length to slow it down a bit his more singular but harder shots would carry the day. To some degree, I think of Ibeabuchi a bit like the late actor James Dean (“live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse”) and we didn’t get to see Ike play out because of his criminal and mental issues. Pressure busts pipes and I think sooner or later the cracks start to show. He was also in some bouts that surely would have taken a toll on him and I would have expected a dropoff. But I don’t have a super-strong opinion on it. I threw the pieces on the table and made my picks without a ton of research.
Now that I got the chance, lemme make a little rundown of what I think would happen, and I'll still be running under my original rules. We got: Ike Ibeabuchi Vs Joe Hipp - A one sided battering in Ike's favor, with Hipp taking as much punishment as he can before getting stopped by TKO in the fifth. Andrew Golota Vs Bert Cooper - A competitive slugfest that has both fighters dropped multiple times early on, before Golota starts to pick up steam and outwork Cooper before sending him to the canvas for good in the fourth. David Tua Vs Michael Grant - A complete slaughter for Tua, with him easily blasting Grant multiple times before the fight gets stopped in the second. Donovan Ruddock Vs Frans Botha - An extremely competitive affair that sees both fighters trade blows and knockdowns before Botha gets knocked out for good in the fifth. Ibeabuchi Vs Golota - Quite the slugfest, with both fighters trading good blows, with Golota being able to work well behind the jab due to his size advantage and Ibeabuchi's squared up demeanor. Despite Golota's good work early on, he eventually gets knocked out in the eighth by a signature mouthwatering hook from The President. Tua Vs Ruddock - A decently competitive affair that sees Ruddock replicate his work against Tyson, only to an easier degree, and in a winning performance against the somewhat technically limited Terminator. Tua gets himself jabbed and smashed from rounds one to twelve as his otherwise crushing hooks get stifled in the clinch. Ibeabuchi Vs Ruddock - Though decently competitive early on, Ibeabuchi turns up plastering Ruddock in the fourth, with him getting rocked hard when he chooses to stand there and admire one of his own combos. Thus making Ike "The President" Ibeabuchi the winner of the 90's Heavyweight Contender Tournament.
Very bold considering that Briggs resume was atrocious in reality. Do you really think that guy was KOed by Darroll Wilson and lost to negative record journeyman Cedreck Fields in his prime would beat guy like Ibeabuchi and Tua? I really can't envision this scenario, especially since both Ike and Tua had great chins
