prime ike ibeaubuchi vs prime lennox lewis

Lewis doesn't take any risks and outboxes him for a wide points decision.

 

Lewis takes the 10 or 11 out of 12 rounds, and shuts Ibeaubuchi out.

 

I love Ike (my favorite 90s heavyweight after Tua), but I don't think we really saw him at his absolute best. What that would have constituted is a fun question to wonder about, but I say his prime probably would have started 2-3 years in the future (assuming he stays with Cokes as his trainer, doesn't get in trouble, etc.)

You can't talk about Ike Ibeabuchi without words like "What If" or "What Could Have Been." My belief is that a hypothetical prime Ibeabuchi would have emerged for all to see by late 2001/Early 2002, and that the public would have been clamoring for Lennox-Ibeabuchi by early 2003, basically at the time when Lennox-Vitali took place.

I think that a hypothetical prime Ike gives Lewis the toughest fight of his life, and stands a great chance of winning. However, we never saw prime Ike. We saw glimpses of what he could be. Thus, for this poll, it has to be late 90s Lewis vs a still-developing '99 Ike, and I have to favor Lennox in that matchup by UD. And I'm not a Lewis fan.

 

If Lewis took him seriously which he likely would, then i see him winning on points or a possible stoppage late on.
If Lewis sensed a real threat from Ike then he might well go after him early, but more likely is Lewis playing it safe and not giving Ike any opportunities.

 

Fair post. But if Ike had stayed on track i think the call for a Lewis fight would of been sooner. Around late 2000 early 2001.

 

Perhaps that would have happened. It's hard to say. I always thought that they would have tried to take their time and build a Lewis showdown into a huge deal, rather than move quickly and have it just be Lennox vs. New Scary Contender X. I remember that Ike was in negotiations about signing with Don King before he was arrested. Had that happened, I think King tries to make several fights to build Ike up against big names, i.e. feeding him an aging Tyson, Holyfield, and maybe Ruiz to give him the WBA belt. That process would take about 2 or 3 years in my opinion, and by the time it was done Ike-Lewis could have been one of the biggest heavyweight fights ever.

 

Without his illness, Ibeaubuchi would of been a very ordinary fighter. Lewis would of been far too smart to lose.

 

Yeah if he signed to King i could see that scenario.
My thinking is Grant and Tua got a shot in 2000, Rahman early 2001. With Ike progressing the way he was i could imagine him forcing his shot somewhere in 2000.
But yeah, signing with King may of put the blocks on it happening sooner.

 

Lewis schools this guy proper.

 

Lewis boxes to a comftorble UD, rocking Ike a few times too.
Vitali would also get the win, over a man who's over rated by some.

 

We never saw how Ibeabuchi would deal with a tall super heavyweight and we probably never even saw a prime Ibeabuchi as he was only 26 when he had his last fight against Byrd.

We can't judge him on his potential but on what we actually saw. He beat Tua in a very tough, close fight while Lewis dominated Tua based on that I would favour Lewis to win a comfortable decision.

 

Lewis absolutely dominates him. Ibeabuchi went down to the line with Tua, Lewis handled Tua with no issue. Lewis, at worst, wins a wide points decision. I can definitely see Ibeabuchi getting smashed by a huge Lewis overhand right and getting KOd.

 

Ike has a puncher's chance and no more. He's vastly outmatched in skill, against a hard puncher, and arguably never won against a top 5 opponent (Byrd was still incomplete when he lost to Ike and Tua arguably beat him).

 

I don't think Lewis stops him, but I think he wins a decision. Ike was strong, tough, and well conditioned. He had fairly heavy hands and kept a good pace. Not an easy fight by any means. But I think the difference would be Lennox's height, reach, footwork, and superior speed and experience. If Lennox shows up at anything less than top shape, Ike could easily starch him. You have to give Ike credit for beating Tua in a very busy workmanlike effort, against a guy who can take you out if and when he hits you, and for KO'ing a guy in Byrd who most heavyweights had a tough time laying a glove upon.