We Like Ike (Ibeabuchi)!
Dateline: 03/21/99Last weekend we witnessed a match between the present (Lewis) and recent past (Holyfield) of the heavyweight division -- and both the fight itself and the resulting decision were completely unsatisfying. This weekend we got a glimpse at the future of the heavyweight division and, despite the sport's best efforts at self-destruction, the future looks quite promising.
With both Ike Ibeabuchi and Chris Byrd sporting undefeated records, the winner of this clash of opposing styles figured to move up towards the head-of-the-class among young heavyweights. Byrd (26-1, 14 KO), an Olympic Silver medallist in 1992 at 165 pounds, is now the size of a full-fledged heavyweight, but still possesses the style and (unfortunately for him) the punching power of a middleweight. Ibeabuchi (20-0, 15 KO), on the other hand, is a thickly muscled 6'2", 245 pounds and packs a wallop. Not only does he hit extremely hard, but he throws many more punches per rounds than most fighters his size. This rare combination of power and activity was too much for Byrd to handle. Through the first four rounds, Byrd proved his typically elusive self, but provided little in the way of retaliation, perhaps hoping to weather the early storm and outpoint the bigger man in the later rounds. Then, with under a minute to go in the fifth round, Ibeabuchi caught Byrd on the ropes with as good a left hook as you'll ever see and sent him face-first to the canvas -- squashing any plans for a long tactical battle. Bryd got up, only to go down again when he couldn't get his legs under him. After rising a second time, Ibeabuchi swarmed Byrd and the referee stopped the fight with one second remaining in the round. Byrd, who could have survived the round, protested the decision, but it was a good stoppage. PunchStats had Ike landing 91 of 289 punches to 84 of 208 for Byrd. With a win over Byrd to go with his June 1997 win over David Tua, Ike Ibeabuchi took a giant leap right to the front of the class of young heavyweights -- yes, even ahead of the more heralded Michael Grant.
HBO's Boxing After Dark series continues to be must-see action for any boxing fan, and this card was no exception. However, announcer Jim Lampley demonstrated he's either a world-class frontrunner or a broadcasting generalist who doesn't really know boxing with his ridiculous, knee-jerk comment after the Ibeabuchi fight that "with all due respect to Evander, this guy (Ibeabuchi) is too young and strong. He would blow him away." Nonsense! Sure Holyfield looked old and tired against Lennox Lewis, but to assume that he would get destroyed by Ibeabuchi simply because Chris Byrd was overwhelmed is absurd. Nice job by Roy Jones Jr. of calling attention to the ridiculousness of Lampley's hyperbole by emphatically stating that "nobody would blow Evander Holyfield away."
The co-feature was a rematch of last December's stirring brawl between Kirk Johnson (27-0-1, 19 KO) and Al Cole (30-4-1, 15 KO). The first bout ended in a draw when Johnson had three points deducted for low blows. While this meeting was also a seesaw battle that saw both men have their moments, it was Johnson who clearly dominated the action. The judges awarded the 26-year-old Johnson, who had trainer Teddy Atlas in his corner for the first time, a unanimous decision 97-93, 97-93, 96-94.
