Buster Douglas (Tokyo) vs David Tua and Ike Ibeabuchi 97

I might take Douglas over both of them.

 

I think he beats Tua and he would follow a game plan similar to how Lewis beat Tua, just stick to the jab (which he can use effectively due to his long reach) and when the time is right, throw a right cross and move out. By the later rounds he can throw more combinations to ward him off. However Tua was 25 pounds lighter in '97 compared to '00, when he fought Lewis, and Tua was with Lou Duva and Ronnie Shields from his pro debut to before the Lewis fight, so Douglas will have to move alot more and will have to soften his core to demotivate Tua. (Douglas beats Tua by unanimous decision, 98-92 IF 10 rounds / 118-110 IF 12 rounds)

For Ike, he's only a foot and a half shorter than Douglas but has a 7 inch reach disadvantage. The difference about him and David Tua is that he was more active and technical. In the fight with Tua, Ike threw more punches by a decent margin but this proves his stamina. Now, with a bigger opponent who has a piston jab, I can see this fight going the distance. However Douglas did lose to Jesse Ferguson prior to the Tokyo bout, who's physical proportions were almost identical to Ibeabuchi, by majority decision. But this is a motivated, more battle-ready Douglas and that begs the question, does the Tokyo form of Buster Douglas beat Ike Ibeabuchi? I believe so, but by the closest margin, simply because Ibeabuchi has more ring generalship and technical skills compared to Tua, while having a durable chin and heart comparable to Tua's. (Douglas beats Ibeabuchi by a CLOSE unanimous decision, 96-94 IF 10 rounds / 112-114 IF 12 rounds. Ibeabuchi wins the first round as he tries to question Douglas' heart and chin though as the fight progresses it slips into Douglas' favour. But I see Ibeabuchi having his own moments between the middle rounds and goes all out in the final rounds.)

 

Douglas had the skills to outbox both men . But he couldn’t afford to take too many shots from either of them

 

Final verdict.

 

Buster in 1990 was a fine tuned super heavyweight with a punch to match. He alone for that win puts him in the top ten (hws) of the 90s. Super motivated, he rose for the occasion.

 

Is buster wants that smoke nobody stopping him

 

Douglas decisions Tua

Too hard to predict Ike-Douglas. Douglas didn't have a great chin and if Ike cracks him, he could win. But i struggle to pick Ike here due to him never having beaten a tall outboxer like Douglas. Toss up for me.

 

I’m not a believer in Douglas. I think both of those guys stop him late.

 

lol Douglas's win over Tyson is better than Tua's entire career.... literally. Beating a champion (let alone an undefeated 23 year old one) is far better than beating a single contender throughout the course of one's career.

Hell Douglas doesn't even need Tokyo to have achieved far more than Tua ever did.

His ranking on this forum far outpaces anything he actually accomplished in his career.

 

If we are talking about THE BEST Douglas, he beats both in competitive fights that he wins comfortably. Tua and Ike are always IN the fights because of their power but the Douglas that beat Tyson is a stylistic nightmare for both men. They would be eating jabs and uppercuts all night.

 

Douglas could have beaten both (not At the same time)..

 

I think the both of them take Douglas out.

 

Swag you know what annoys me about Buster Douglas and i've said it numerous times he often gets branded as a journeyman who showed up for 1 fight vs Tyson and that's absolute nonsense.

His form from when he beat Greg Page in 1986 up until the Tyson fight was very good with wins over Mike Williams, Oliver McCall, Trevor Berbick.

People always say "what if the Tokyo version of Douglas showed up" what they should really say is "what if the 1987 to 1990 Douglas showed up"

And you're correct i believe Douglas has a better record than Tua aswell....

Douglas's best wins.....

Tex Cobb
Oliver McCall
Greg Page
Mike Tyson
Trevor Berbick
Mike Williams

Tua's best wins.....

Michael Moorer = way past his best though
Oleg Maskaev
Hasim Rahman = very controversial ending.
Fres Oquendo
David Izon
Darroll Wilson

Douglas beat 3 former or future world champions including beating obviously current champion Tyson.

 

Tokyo Douglas