I saw his fight with David Tua. Talk about a close fight. Tua pressured him all night and landed some big bombs, but Ike took his punches well and fought back evenly. He even landed more punches than Tua did. Based on Tua's failure to hurt him, it makes me wonder how the other pressure fighters would have done against him. Do you think he could have survived against Rocky, Frazier, Dempsey or Tyson? I'm not saying he'd win (he barely beat Tua) but would he survive?
Hard to tell. Ike was not a finished product. He was moved along quickly, but he had a tremendous amount of raw talent. That raw talent got him through the Tua fight, but he wasnt doing much of anything special besides standing his own in a pretty basic slugfest. In the Byrd fight you saw how his trainer Curtis Cokes just programmed him to throw a two punch combo to try and catch Byrd. It was a body head combo that he missed about 100 times before he finally landed it. So Ike wasnt a finished fighter, he had no tricks, little ring savvy, just a lot of potential because of his size and speed for a big man. Those fighters you mentioned were a heads above what Ike had seen so its hard to tell how he would fare, but he definitely showed the ability to take a shot and to give one back.
He would eat Dempsey and **** him out. Tyson would rock him hard early, i think, he's much faster than Tua and a better puncher. Frazier would dismantle him, he's just superior in every single way. Marciano may have a tough fight againt him due to his lack of speed, but i feel he is too savvy and intelligent and would likely boss the fight.
Why is Ike overated? He showed mental toughness, fitness and the ability to take a punch in the Tua fight, and in the Byrd fight he showed speed power and the ability to listen to his corner and carry out a gameplan. I think Ike showed a tremendous amount of potential for a fighter that had 20 fights. He beat argueably the two best contenders of the time early in his career. Ike is not overated, he was just a very good prospect that was progressing quickly and doing some exciting things.
Ike destroyz them all!!! Also.. Jeff Wooden KOs Frazier, Patterson, Marciano, Dempsey, and Tyson. As for 2 Gunz...man..he'd put them in body bags. Sigh..Tua isn't much of a swarmer. He certainly applies pressure but was more like a one handed Arthur Abraham in long fights, hiding in his turtle guard, letting his opponents outbox him, and banking on his power in late surges. Ike smartly kept the hook in check during said late rallies and Tua couldn't take him out, losing on points. Club fighter Jeff Wooden applied a similiar strategy to Tua in a shorter fight but came out on the losing end of a MD. I'm not sure if this approach would be effective against the fighters you named. It would take something we haven't seen from Ike.
With his exceptional wing span, ring generalship, and piston like jab, Cooper is more like a modern Sonny Liston. Goes without mention that Ike couldn't handle that.
Ike was a good prospect, with raw talent, size, durability & power. However, i doubt he beats Ray Mercer (of Holy & Lewis vintage), let alone Tyson or Frazier, who would both cruelly dominate him. Same here, the Peak Ruddock of '89-'91 beats any Ibeabuchi.