Ike Ibeabuchi: The greatest ‘President’ that never was

It’s only fitting on this President’s Day to recall the bizarre, abbreviated career of the man who could’ve altered heavyweight history and become the greatest heavyweight of all-time: Ike Ibeabuchi.

For those of you who who’ve never seen or heard of Ibeabuchi aka ‘The President,’ I implore you to visit YouTube to see him in action.  He’s become somewhat of a cult figure amongst boxing fans: boxing’s version of the orginal Star Trek or Jehrico.  The plug was pulled on his career far too soon.  But unlike cancelled television shows, Ibeabuchi is the one holding the cord.

Let’s go back to 1990 when boxing’s biggest cult icon, then-undefeated heavyweight boxing champion and universally-accepted ‘baddest man on the planet’ Mike Tyson shockingly suffered his first loss to unheralded James ‘Buster’ Douglas.  As the world gasped in shock, the 17 year-old Nigerian-born Ibeabuchi told his uncle, “If Tyson can be beat, anybody can be world champion.”

While his words may have been proven prophetic, in today’s landscape where everybody is champion, the bout helped fuel the teen’s desire to become a professional fighter.

After moving to Dallas with his mother in 1993, Ibeabuchi learned the ropes of boxing under the tutelage of Curtis Cokes, a former welterweight champion.  With a remarkable blend of speed, power and endurance, the chisled heavyweight won the 1994 Texas Golden Gloves tournament and promptly turned pro.

In the ring, ‘The President’ was 6’2″, 235lbs. of pure, unadulterated pain and pressure.  Unlike the awful jab & grab trend started by John Ruiz, perfected by Lennox Lewis and now employed by Wladimir Klitschko, Ibeabuchi was a crowd-pleasing fighter.  Think of him as a heavyweight version of Marvelous Marvin Hagler.  He was a physically intimidating specimen who brought his lunch pail to the ring but never took a break to eat as he was too busy pummeling his opponent into submisson.

He dispatched his first 16 opponents with ease, setting up a showdown with another young, heralded, undefeated heavyweight by the name of David Tua.  At the time Tua’s record was 27-0 and the short, stocky fighter was dubbed the next Mike Tyson.  In one of the most exciting heavyweight bouts you’ll ever see, Ibeabuchi and Tua stood toe-to-toe and traded bombs over 12 rounds, with the Nigerian winning a unanimous decision in a fight that broke the record for most punches thrown in a heavyweight bout.

This is where Ibeabuchi’s story began to unravel.  After the Tua bout, he began to complain of painful headaches.  After MRIs showed nothing unusual, the fighter was convinced he’d been possessed by evil spirits.  Bouts of rage ensued and at times he believed he was an actual president and forced others to treat him as such.

The mental breakdown couldn’t have come at a worse time, as HBO executives began courting Ibeabuchi in attempt to get him to fight for the heavyweight title on their network.  But it was one bizarre act after another for the talented fighter, including fights with sparring partners, a knife-weilding incident at a New York restaurant and a kidnapping of his ex-girlfriend’s son that ended in a brutal car crash, permanantly injuring the boy.

Despite the issues, Ibeabuchi received only a two-month prison sentence and resumed his career.  He became the first man to knock out future heavyweight champion Chris Byrd (then 26-0) with a vicious, slobber-inducing, confusion-creating 5th round destruction.

But the Byrd beatdown would prove to be his last as Ibeabuchi (20-0, 15KOs) was later arrested for attempted rape of a Las Vegal callgirl. Police officers were forced to use tear gas to get him into custody after he barricaded himself in his hotel bathroom.  He subsequently plead guilty and was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, where he still sits today.

Many of his “demons” have been attributed to bipolar disorder, an ailment which he was diagnosed in prison.  Had the diagnosis and treatment come sooner, maybe the troubled heavyweight could’ve avoided the bad behavior that left him behind bars and earned his place on boxing’s Mount Rushmore.

Ike Ibeabuchi next parole hearing is scheduled for May 1, 2012.  But at age 39 and likely to face deportation, if released, it’s unlikely he will make a successful return to the ring.