Will Ortiz be this Era's Ibeabuchi?

Ike Ibeabuchi was 26 years old and was streaking to the number-one contender spot when he went to prison. He came out of nowhere. He was only a pro for about three years. People always thought "what if?" with regards to him because his future was in front of him. (And Chris Byrd, who he destroyed, became a two-time champ.)

Luis Ortiz will be 37 when he fights again. He was a longtime, established Cuban amateur. He's already fought as a pro nearly twice as long as Ibeabuchi. He's been busted for PEDs, and he's got a fringe belt.

There's really nothing similar about them at all. Ortiz is exciting. He and Joshua seem to be the bangers in this group of heavyweights. I hope they meet soon.

But I don't see Ortiz becoming the next Ibeabuchi. If Joshua went off the rails in a couple months and went to prison for 15 years, he might be considered the "what if?" guy ... especially if Whyte went on to become a two-time heavyweight beltholder.

But I think Ortiz is Ortiz and Ibeabuchi was Ibeabuchi. There aren't really any similarities between the two.

 

Well to be honest, Ortiz' skills are superior to Ibeabuchi's.

Much better schooled and more well rounded fighter.

 

Like I said, they aren't similar at all. Ortiz is approaching 37. He's had a long, established career. He is who he is.

The myth of Ibeabuchi had to do with him never reaching his potential. He was only 26 when he left the scene. For his limited time and experience, he was pretty dynamic. How would he have improved? How would he have done against Lewis and Klitschkos?

We never saw Ibeabuchi fight until he was 37.

We never saw him fight until he was 30. We never saw him go for a title. We never saw him lose.

He had the potential. But he didn't realize it.

 

The big difference, though, is Luis Ortiz didn't go anywhere. He was a top amateur in his 20s. And he's been a pro his entire 30s.

Jennings had already had a shot at the title and lost nearly every round. I like Ortiz and he's exciting, but he's also a 37-year-old PED cheat who won the least valued of the three WBA heavyweight belts.

If we go on to see Ortiz lose fights, I don't know how it's going to "improve" his image or make him a mythic figure in the sport because he has a win over Bryant Jennings in his pocket.

Ibeabuchi, on the other hand, was a young man who had only been around for three years.

There's a myth that develops around young people who don't reach their potential. Part of that had to do with his wins over Byrd and Tua, and the fact that Byrd would go on to win two titles and Tua would remain a dangerous top contender for a decade.

I don't think Jennings is going much further. I certainly don't see him scoring wins over two future Hall of Famers (like Byrd did with Klitschko and Holyfield).

I like to watch Ortiz. I don't want to badmouth him. He's a tough customer. I was kind of getting a Liston vibe off him Saturday.

But I don't know if people are going to be wondering about how good he "could've been" because he was active in his 20s and 30s and he never impressed anyone until NOW.

It's not like Ibeabuchi, where he didn't fight from 26 on. You can watch Ortiz fight at 26 at 30 at 36. He's always been around. So I don't know where the "mystery" comes from?

 

no cause the styles are different / ortiz has heavy hands a la george foreman or a john tate ... ibeabuchi was a tyson/frazier style bob and weaver coming at you ...

 

Ibeabuchi was still young, up and coming. He traded bombs with Tua for 12 rounds and got the win. He dispatched the slick undefeated Chris Byrd, by stoppage. He hadn't reached his peak yet. The Ike from the Tua, and Byrd fights, would have ****ed Holyfield up something serious.

Ortiz on the other hand, isn't young. He is old already. And struggles to enter the ring in shape. With 300 something amateur wins, he has boxing skills, and showed us a bit of handspeed, as well as the power we already knew he had. If he intends to use his boxing skill more often, he will need to drop 10-15 pounds, so he doesn't blow his knee out like fat boy Solis did. As far as the comparison to Ibeabuchi. I don't see it. Two different guys. Ortiz doesn't have a Tua, or Byrd on his resume. While Jennings is a good win over a solid contender, Jennings isn't undefeated, and doesn't have the talent or skill of either Tua or Byrd. Hopefully Ortiz will get to fight the fights. He might get frozen out, in this day of Divas, like Wilder, who won't fight anyone.

 

his victory over jennings is as good as anything wilder, fury, or povetkin have done.

 

jennings is better than byrd. byrd and ruiz were two of the worst five hw belt holders ever.

 

There weren't bloggers when Ibeabuchi was around.

 

I saw Ike spar many, many times.

He may be the most overrated fighter in the history of the planet.

 

some guys peek later than others...

King Kong might be at his peek now and
clean out a batch of these hyped guys like
Wilder, Joshua & Fury...

make the fights!! :deal

If any of them got past Kong they'd get
props from lots of their detractors!!!

and I don't mean running around like
Duckweather and barely winning by landing
a few jabs a round but a real fight!

I doubt any of them could go toe to toe or
even run around and survive the Wrath of Kong!!

I'm afraid they'll all duck Kong for years and
try to burn up the clock and hope he ages fast!!

Waldo vs Fury Trilogy burns up all of 2016

Wilder keeps begging for Burger Squad title
defences or vacates the title...

King Kong will be avoided like the plague!! :admin

but Fight Fans may still get a show like:

King Kong vs Mansour (Slug-Fest) -
(Mansour Decapitated imo)

King Kong vs Takam (Slug-Fest) -
(Takam tries hard like against Povetkin)
but gets taken out about the same way...

meanwhile the title fights are boring
messes to watch and people finally start
demanding real fights for a change...

 

Not sure about that. Byrd was feather fisted, by quite slick, and undefeated when Ike beat him. Byrd had a decent heavyweight career, and a decent heavyweight resume. I don't think Jennings beats everybody that Byrd beat.

 

Wow you are full of rat excrement!