A somewhat stable psyche is part of being a champion. Ike WASN'T HW king and never would have been, he did not have the mentality to stay out of trouble for long enough. There are no what if - champions, period. But since this is a what if - thread: Lennox eased to a points win against Tua, Vitali would have toyed with Tua. Both would have beaten Ike and make it look easy. Ike did not have exceptional speed or defense, which he would have needed to beat Lennox or Vitali.
No. In reality he was outboxed by David Tua (which is hard to do).... and he was also losing to Chris Byrd before he caught him. Ike even said that he was extremely frustrated and that Byrd was hurting him to the body. Ike was a very good fighter, but he wouldn't have been the heavyweight king. Not physically... and DEFINITELY not with his mentality. Everyone needs to stop with the "If he was mentally stable".... do you know how many people in this world have great potential that they can't tap into because they lack the mental strength? The fact is that he DID NOT have it, and that is just as important as having the physical tools.
i dont agree with people using ike's mental unstability as a reason or an excuse as to why he wouldnt of been a champion or been able to beat the top dogs. i mean mike tyson was a ****ing lunatic and look at wat he achieved. infact alot of fighters are ****ed in the head and it didnt stop them sure you must hav something mentally wrong with you if you wanna fight for a living and actually enjoy it. i think ike couldve been a star and from wat he showed in his short career he had the potencial to beat the klit sisters and maybe even an old lennox
I actually think he suffered brain damage from the Tua fight, seeing as how his behavior became that much more erratic after that fight. In an amazing fight, but although Ike won the battle, it seemed to me like it was a Pyrrhic victory- a win at too much of a long term cost. Either way, I think Ike was still dangerous enough that he could've picked up a belt here or there, but after the Tua fight I don't think he ever would've had the right mentality to defend it 5-6 times successfully.
Ibeabuchi had a war with Tua. So let's say he was at the same level as Tua 12 years ago. Look at Tua today and what he has accomplished. Who's to say that Ike would have went on to do anything more?
I think all three, Lennox, Wlad and Vitali would have given Ibeabuchi a boxing lesson. Honestly, even Wlad who is the most fragile of the three, would have jabbed him all night to a UD. Lennox and Vitali would have probably been more physical with him, risking some exchanges, but in the end, they would also UD him.
LL was better than IKE, as were Holy and Tyson during the 90s, for what its worth I think he would've beat Rahman, Peter, Brewster, Ruiz, Golota, Wlad and probably Vitali.
Peter has held the WBC title and his two defeats were at the hands of the two best heavyweights today. That is not too bad IMO, you are making peter out to be fraudly I just dont' get it
Ike was losing that fight and then caught Byrd as an overconfident Byrd was fooling around on the ropes. That is not "destroying" someone. I don't think that Ike proved to be a better boxer than Byrd... but it was a brutal punch.