ibeabuchi shortcomings

1) Ike did not come up on top vs Tua. It was just the judges' decision. 2) Rahman did not easily outbox Tua, especially not in their 2nd fight. 3) According to lefthook31, Kirk Johnson used to floor Ibeabuchi in sparring sessions with right hands.

 

I'm Sure "The President" was very confident in his Strengh Power and Fitness, And That nobody could Outfight him even if it went the full course.. He had the Abilities to Maintain that "War Footing" He certainly must of had Something... Chris Byrd drove virtually everyone to Distraction with his Shiftyness and Space Perception... But not Freight Train Ike... Who Ran him Down quite Impressively... There was no Brakeman on Ike's Train, and ultimately it's his own fault that he ended up in the sidings... Physically the Full Package.. Physcologically... Some parts of the Jigsaw Missing I'm Afraid...

 

I think he would've ended up like his countryman Sam Peter. Good physical talent but ultimately ruined by mental instability and indolence.

 

I think this is absolutely correct. Ibeabuchi is one of the most overrated fighters, based on what he actually did - which is basically fight a bunch of no hopers, and then two fights against rated fighters, one of which was a highly debatable decision.

And off of a minimal record like this, he's picked by some to beat some of the great HWs??? :nut It's ludicrous.

 

mental shakiness and it would come out as he moved up in class

 

Ike was an ascending talent capable of tracking down and taking out a prime Chris Byrd or going toe toe toe with an in shape David Tua. Who fought better in less than 20 fights in the past 50 years at heavyweight?

Ike had solid skills. Great size, an A plus chin, very good power. An all time could have been. Far better than Sam Peter. He's in my top 50 at heavyweight.

 

As for shortcomings, I think he was definately mechanical. Like say Bruno. Throws the right punches but the sequence was the same and not much imagination. Or even worse than imagination would be a lack of ringsmarts. I think that is or was possible with him, we just didn't get a chance to find out.

I think he needed a better corner when he moved up the ladder as well. Some more tutelage if he was a good listener and follower.

Like mentioned already, footwork. The older he got the worse that would have become. Fortunately, he was fighting in a time when there was minimal emphasis on footwork.

I wanted to see him go after Commander Vander or Bowe or Tyson at that stage and not Lennox. I thought a smart big guy like Lewis could cause the biggest hurdles. I think he gets his hand raised against the others. Maybe win some of those against some name guys and get a belt & then take on Lennox.

 

One thing...by getting sent to prison he avoided becoming an underperforming fatass, which was entirely possible when you consider his prison physique and the fact that he hadn't tasted real money yet.

 

Is being psychotic a shortcoming?

 

Being psychopathic can be a significant advantage in boxing, or boxing promotion!

Sugar Ray Robinson and Don King are the cases in point!

 

- Lewis beat a fat out of shape Tua.
Ibeabuchi beat the better version.
Respect for the Ibeabuchi win.
- The size isn't important. He's 6'2" but who cares?
A good fighter can beat every type fighter(taller,shorter,heavier,
fatter,faster etc.)
The 5'11" Chagaev was the first who beat the 7' Valuev.
And Valuev wasn't just a size based fighter.

 

Lewis wasn't smart.He was clumsy. The fat mediocre Mercer outjabbed him.
He had problem with Vitali. Skill by skill he wasn't better than
Klitschko.
Lewis wasn't smart against Bruno.
I don't wanna write every example about Lewis but Lewis hadn't
chin and Ibeabuchi could punch.
The Mccall 1,Rahman 1 fights proved everybody had chance
for destroying Lennox.

 

Hard to judge such a small sample. Ike was physically gifted and didn't have any glaring issues. Top power, chin, good strength, very good stamina. Little bit of a plodder though, I could see a comparison with say a Mercer type of fighter if his training isn't on point. He wouldn't be disciplined enough to have a long reign but fares well h2h. The Byrd win was very good. the tua fight is harder to judge, he s****ped the win, where as tua was latterly found out to be very 1 dimensional. Having said that, mindset and tactics are very different when fighting someone who hasn't tasted defeat.

 

he had the intensity of a Tyson but was even less able to control it.