current alexander povetkin vs prime ike ibeabuchi

I was referring to other posters on this thread. Pardon me.

 

No problem:good

 

Damn, Ike is getting seriously overrated on this thread. While it's possible he KO's Povetkin, it's more likely that Povetkin makes the adjustments he needs to, breaks him down, and wins a UD.

 

It's put against you when you're unable to KO one of the most durable fighters of all time?

 

How is that more likely? If anything, that is seriously overrating Povetkin. KO'ing Byrd in two rounds and beating a peak David Tua(on the inside no less), while taking all his best punches, and showing exceptional skill during the bout, does not make someone overrated. What has Povetkin done to compare? Ibeabuchi had amazing potential, and was starting to realize it and show it before he ****ed himself over.

 

I fail to envision how Povetkin would break Ike down. Ike fought in close with David Tua for 12 rounds and took some hard body punches and huge shots upstairs. During the final frame, he looked as fresh as ever. One could argue he lost the fight, but it was an impressive showing for a youngster with no experience at a high level being able to fight toe to toe with a guy as powerful and sturdy as Tua.

Like Povetkin, Ike had the stamina to keep up a furious workrate. But he also had awesome strength and punching power. He was better from the outside too as he had a more authoratative jab.

I just don't see how Povetkin's swarming style would work to his advantage against the thick-set Nigerian.

 

ibeabuchi would break em down....ibeabuchi 4 rd tko.....:smoke:smoke

 

Ike isn't getting overrated in this thread. He was one of the biggest what-ifs of all time. The 90's HW division was deep and Ibeabuchi would have been such a great addition.

If I had to bet my life on it, I would take prime Ibeabuchi by TKO against the Povetkin of today. We don't know about Povetkin completely though, so it's not a guarantee. Tua had a really close fight with Ike. Lets say Povetkin has the chin of Tua.. it's realistic that Povetkin throws 1,000 punches and connects enough on Ike to win 7 rounds. But I don't want to sound like a nuthugger. Ike is a horrible matchup for Povetkin.

A lot of people that don't know boxing think Ibeabuchi was like Sam Peter. You can't compare the two. Ibeabuchi was on a whole different level and better in every single way. The guy was amazing.. it pisses me off just to think about all the matches that could have happened in the late 90's and early 2000's. He was young and could have been a long time champion. I would easily pick Ike over Wlad.

 

:good

You know I'm a huge fan of Samuel, but he isn't half the fighter Ike could have become. Physically, Ike was as sturdy as they come and he had a great well-rounded skill set with proven adaptability as well.

Even though Tyson was past his best days, a fight between him and Ike in the late 1990s would have been ridiculous.

 

1) Byrd basically gave Ike the fight by spending too much time on the ropes. That was a 5th round stoppage that occurred with Byrd on his feet- he didn't stop him cold. Ike missed alot and didn't establish the jab. And, what I find the most disconcerting- Byrd's counters looked like they actually fazed Ike at a couple of points in the fight. Had Byrd fought smarter, the fight was there for him to win. Give credit to Ike for catching him on the ropes so his wild haymakers finally found a home. Should we assume Povetkin would let himself get caught on the ropes in a similar spot, though?

2) Ike never fought a puncher after Tua. In what was a very close fight (some still had Tua winning), he still took alot of punishment. We never got to see that his chin was the same as that fight, and I can't assume it would've been given that we know how hard Tua hits. Even if you don't think Povetkin hits hard enough to stop him, I think he hits hard enough, and just as importanly, from enough different angles to alter Ibeabuchi's approach.

3) I think Povetkin would frustrate the hell out of him by making him miss on the inside more than Tua did, and making him pay more than Byrd did. At the end of the day, it'd be a hell of a fight because both of these guys will throw until the cows come home.

It wouldn't shock me if one of Ike's haymakers did find it's home, nor would it shock me if he won- but fighting 2 good fighters doesn't equal an easy KO against Povetkin, whose resume is deeper right now. I don't see how a guy who takes 19 rounds to take out Marion Wilson and Everton Davis right plum in his prime is such a heavy favorite.

I got no beef with someone picking Ike to win..but to make it sound like AP doesn't belong in the same ring with him is downright stupid. I'm not saying you were doing that SweetPea, but things were heading in that direction in the thread overall.

 

I am not as sure about picking Ike over Wlad as I am about picking him over more of an infighter. I think Ike was tremendously skilled on the inside, and had a good mid-range jab as well, but he was not the outboxer that Wlad was. Ike, on the other hand, had the chin, whereas Wlad doesn't.

How would you see a fight between the two going down in Ike's favor? Do you think he would just catch him? Wlad has usually only been caught with the wider shots from less skilled fighters, but ones who carry power like Sanders and Brewster. It wasn't in Ike's style to fight like that. He used short, compact punches, and liked to fight inside, but was good from mid-range.

 

Yeah, I think Ike would have stopped him easily though. I know Ike's resume isn't good enough to make him an ATG HW, but I would definitey consider him one of the 15 best H2H HW's of all time. Out of all the 90's HW's (Holyfield, Bowe, Lewis, etc.) I think Ike gives a PRIME Tyson bigger problems than anyone else. His chin was amazing. He wasn't even prime yet when he fought Tua/Byrd... aaaaahhh it pisses me off talking about Ike. He might have still been around today if it wasn't for his insanity! :twisted:

 

It was a 5th round KO, my fault.

We don't need to assume he would let himself be caught in the ropes, but we should assume that Povetkin would be there to be hit at all times, unlike Byrd, who was an out-fighter.

The bottom line is, this fight would take place on the inside, and Ike's chin is proven against a harder puncher than Povetkin, whereas Povetkin's chin is not as proven. Skill-wise, Povetkin is a swarmer, going up against a skilled in-fighter and puncher. I don't see many fighters, other than one with a granite chin, surviving with Ike on the inside, or out-working him, even a swarmer like Povetkin.

I think you flat out overrate Povetkin is what I think.

You do realize that Wilson is one of the most durable fighters of all time, don't you? What fighter has Povetkin beaten on the level of Tua? Ike took out a prime version of Byrd quicker than Povetkin as well.

 

That's the way I see it, but I'm open to suggestions as to why someone would choose Ike. Wlad is by no means unbeatable, but from what I've seen of Ike, he just didn't have the style to beat Wlad, even if he did have the power.

 

I can't see Wlad beating Ike at all. If Ike doesn't catch him early, he would stop him in the later rounds. Wlad's stamina is good enough to let him last 12 rounds with someone like Peter, but not someone like Ibeabuchi. Ike would force Klitschko to work very hard in the first half of the fight and Wlad wouldn't be able to outbox him for the second half. He would clinch a lot and try to survive, but Ike would end up catching and stopping him. Ike would deal with Wlad's power very well, so that's no problem. I think Wlad is overrated right now greatly in a H2H sense against other great HW's of the past because of his recent run of wins against B level opponents. Wlad is the type of fighter who outclasses and destroys B levels, but can't handle tough fights with elite fighters that can take his shots.