People often ask what would have happened if Ike had avoided prison. Most threads about the topic ask how *well* Ike could have done. What he could have accomplished. But in this thread, we will ask the question the other way round: What could have gone WRONG for Ike if he'd kept fighting? If Ike hadn't gone to prison, what sorts of (plausible) bad matchmaking, poor career decisions, and other bad luck could have made his career sink into mediocrity after its initial promise?
Too much to mention could have gone wrong for him . If you had to pick a talented fighter who would fail, and you were going to be shot if you got it wrong, then he would be a pretty good call!
The usual stuff.. losing motivation to train. Drug abuse.. a loss to an obscure opponent leading to a downward spiral of defeats and then the ultimate fading into obscurity…
As promising as he was he would still have had to beat Lewis, Bowe, Golota, Morrison, Holyfield etc......it was IMO the best era for quality heavyweights and he would have been in the mix but he doesn't beat Lewis
Mm- The worst thing he could do career wise was to keep fighting the way he did. He'd scare off a lot of competition for being such a hard head and lose his health early. lol But seriously it'd be hard for him not to fail as a big durable aggressive guy with a mean streak? Isn't that the heavyweight ideal for the people? If he stayed a professional and kept working with his head down he'd have been a good maybe, just maybe a great pro.
Bowe was finished by the time Ike was on the way up and Golota and Morrison wouldn't have much for him. I don't think he had the smarts and skill to beat Holyfield and Lewis and I could see a loss doing his head in as he wasn't a stable individual.
He was and is a schizophrenic. Best case scenario would be getting his ass beat by Lewis for a hefty paycheck before ending up on medications that would make boxing impossible but allow him to function.