Over 31 years on from his professional debut, a 52-year-old heavyweight is preparing to potentially extend his unbeaten record this month.
Nigeria’s Ike Ibeabuchi made a sensational comeback to the sport on August 23 as he stopped Idris Afinni in the third round of their clash at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
Known as ‘The President’, Ibeabuchi’s promising professional career reached a standstill back in 1999 after he found himself at the centre of legal controversy, which ultimately led to him being served with a prison sentence of over 10 years.
He racked up victories over the likes of Chris Byrd and David Tua prior to his arrest, with the win over Tua earning him the WBC International title, with many fans backing the Nigerian to go on to secure himself a shot at the version of the world heavyweight championship,
Instead, Ibeabuchi has been forced to effectively start from scratch as he prepares to make his second ring appearance of 2025.
The 52-year-old is set to lock horns with countryman Kabiru Towolawi on Wednesday December 24 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in a scheduled 12-round heavyweight contest.
Oleksandr Usyk is the current ruler of the heavyweight division, holding the WBC, WBA and IBF belts, while Fabio Wardley is the WBO champion, and Murat Gassiev recently became WBA Regular champion.
It remains to be seen exactly what Ibeabuchi is targeting at this stage in his professional career, but ‘The President’ appears to be full of ambition and confidence going in to the 22nd bout of his tenure on Christmas Eve.
