He came back and beat Everton Davis and future world champion Chris Byrd, but was arrested once again in 1999, which all but ended his boxing career, with him being released in 2015.
There are murmurs that Mike Tyson avoided Ibeabuchi and who could blame him given the mental state of “The President”, who was clearly a dangerous man. However, if Ike avoided prison and continued his progress in the sport then he would almost certainly have earnt a title fight with Evander Holyfield, who of course defeated Tyson for the title. A win over Holyfield and Mike Tyson - albeit past his prime - would have thrown the Nigerian’s name into the conversation as one of the greatest of all time, but instead he is more or less unknown.
The question remains: could he have beat Holyfield or Tyson? A fight with Holyfield in my opinion would play out similar to the Holyfield vs Tyson fights, with the champion likely coming out on top and not allowing Ibeabuchi to get on the inside. However, a fight with Tyson would have been fireworks, not only the fight itself, but the press conferences and build-up would have been one for the ages.
I personally believe Tyson still comes out on top, but it would have been an all-out war and this is certainly a fight that would be interesting in the new Legends Only League, following the “President’s” release from prison.
By Tom Eaton