AS SURREAL as it sounds to say it, welcome to Ike Ibeabuchi fight week.
Yes, you read that right. Ibeabuchi, a leading heavyweight contender of the late 1990s, has not fought since he almost decapitated Chris Byrd in March 1999, but the now 52-year-old is due to make his long-promised and much-delayed ring comeback this Saturday in the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos against Idris ‘Finito’ Afinni.
With news crews in tow, Ibeabuchi, who was deported back to his native Nigeria in 2021after serving a 16-year jail term for battery with intent and attempted sexual assault and then jailed again for violating parole, arrived in Lagos on Monday night.
Despite not having laced up in a professional contest for over 26 years he told reporters defiantly at a press conference this week: “I’m glad to show my home country what I’m made of. The long lay-off means nothing. I’ve been training and I’m prepared to prove it on August 23rd.”
Ibeabuchi-Afinni has invoked feelings of disbelief, disgust and intrigue in fairly equal measure. However, Miyen Akiri from Prizefighting.tv, the new promotional entity that has brokered the fight, insisted to Boxing News: “This event is the biggest boxing match in the history of Nigeria, and these two guys are fighting for their lives. So this will be a very dangerous fight for both of them.
“This is a truly historic event, marking the long-awaited return of Ike ‘The President’ Ibeabuchi after more than 26 years away from the ring. It’s a homecoming for him. Fans can expect to see a determined and focused Ibeabuchi. His opponent, Idris ‘Finito’’ Affini, is a formidable fighter who will be looking to make a name for himself. This isn’t just a comeback; it’s a clash between a boxing legend and a hungry, dangerous competitor. The winner will become the most celebrated fighter in Nigeria.
“Most people think that Ike is just going to walk through Idris. But those that know Idris, know that that is very unlikely. Yes, Ike is the star, but Idris can be the spoiler. If Idris wins, his life will be completely different financially. Idris is a very religious man, when he got notice that he was selected to challenge Ike he went to a special religious prayer camp for two days to pray. This man will be dangerous. Even though Ike has been out of the ring for 26 years, he has a huge bullseye on his back.”
Ibeabuchi was originally due to face Britain’s Danny Williams, until the Briton withdrew through injury. Akiri elaborated on the reasons for the withdrawal: “All of Danny’s medicals came back clean, including his MRIs. Danny was training hard for this fight, probably too hard because he was injured during training.
“I can tell you [Danny] was absolutely training to knock out Ike … Idris is planning the same. Idris has said to me, if he wins this fight, he will be the man. And he wants to be the man. So fans should expect a very tough fight.
“Idris is a cruiserweight champion and a puncher. Eighty-three per cent of his wins have come by knockout. Ike is a world renowned fighter. If he beats Ike, his whole world changes financially. A win over Ike would allow him to become a very wealthy man financially in Nigeria. He becomes the man. He will be fighting to change his life, that makes him very dangerous.”
When faced with accusations that Ibeabuchi should not be fighting at his advanced age, Akiri shot back: “If a person is healthy, no matter what age [and] passes all medical tests, Prizefighting.tv believes he should be able to redeem himself. Everyone has the right to pursue their dream, no matter what his [or] her age is.”
Akiri then invoked the words of former President Theodore Roosevelt – a huge boxing fan by the way – in support of his point: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who actually does strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
In short, Akiri concluded, returning to his own words, and not Roosevelt’s: “A man must chase something, even if it is nothing but a rabbit.”
Rabbits? Roosevelt? A 52-year-old man who insists he can still become heavyweight champion of the world?
Yes, only an Ike Ibeabuchi fight week could be this surreal.
Luke G. Williams previews Ibeabuchi vs Afinni in this week’s print edition of Boxing News. The fight is available on pay-per-view this Saturday through Prizefighting.tv
