The 1990s were a golden era for heavyweights. Among the legends who competed at the highest level in that decade were Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer and Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. All of them are now enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
But in the 1990s, there was depth in the heavyweight division. In addition to those seven, Ray Mercer, Tommy Morrison, Razor Ruddock, Chris Byrd, David Tua, Oliver McCall, Andrew Golota, Michael Grant and Hasim Rahman all had good runs in the decade.
There is one heavyweight of the 1990s, though, that I didn't mention who, if things had gone differently for him personally, might have been as good as any of them.
Ike Ibeabuchi turned pro in 1994 and last fought in 1999. He went 20-0 with 15 knockouts, defeating Byrd and Tua along the way.
He was big and powerful, had remarkable footwork for a man his size, possessed a crushing jab and, maybe most importantly, had elite boxing IQ.
Ibeabuchi will always remain one of those "what if" boxing stories because his career was over before he could fulfill his potential. Sadly, Ibeabuchi was plagued by mental health issues, which overtook not only his career but his life. He wound up in jail for battery and attempted sexual assault.
He's free now, and plans to box on Dec. 7 as a 51-year-old.
I have no interest in seeing that. Very few 51-year-olds belong in a boxing ring, and certainly not one who hasn't boxed in a quarter of a century.
Boxing is all he knows, though, so he's going to go out there and there will be people trying to sell him as a potential future champion.
It's all so sad. Not only isn't he going to win a championship in this return, it's unlikely to last very long. He's going to have trouble getting licensed and no one of substance will see a value in fighting him.
Things were vastly different in 1999. After defeating Byrd with as devastating a finish as you'll ever see, he was a super hot commodity. He was a potential future champion after violently knocking Byrd out on HBO in a fight at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash., on March 20, 1999.
He might have been a likely future champion. Ibeabuchi was ranked No. 4 at heavyweight by Ring in 1999, behind Lewis, Holyfield and Grant and just ahead of Tua. Lewis defeated Holyfield on Nov. 13, 1999, in Las Vegas, and on April 29, 2000, he knocked out Grant in the second round.
Had Ibeabuchi been available, he'd probably have been next for Lewis.
But Ibeabuchi's luck ran out. He was convicted of the charges of battery and attempted sexual assault, and that finished the dream he might have become heavyweight champion.
As talented as Ibeabuchi was -- and remember, he didn't have a lengthy amateur career -- he wasn't a slam dunk to win the title. He gave up three inches in height and seven inches in reach to Lewis. Vitali Kltischko had five inches in height and three inches in reach on him. Wladimir Klitschko had four inches in height and four inches in reach on Ibeabuchi, who was 6-2 with a 77-inch reach.
All three of those bouts would have been difficult match-ups for him, but he did have the ability to win all of them. He hit like a truck, he knew how to box and set up his punches and he was probably quicker than all three.
The point is, Ibeabuchi is one of the greatest 'What ifs' in sports history. He's similar in a way to Len Bias, the great University of Maryland forward who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Boston Celtics in 1986. But two days after his selection, he died of a drug overdose. What kind of impact might he have had in those intense Celtics-Lakers playoff series in the 1980s and 1990s?
Ibeabuchi was still developing as a fighter when his career abruptly ended. Who knows how much better he could have gotten, but the guy who knocked out Byrd in five was definitely talented enough to win a heavyweight belt.
We lost on an opportunity to potentially see greatness. Adversity would have arisen and there's no telling how Ibeabuchi would have handled that. And there's no knowing how he would have performed against guys who were just as powerful but significantly taller and rangier.
His comeback now at 51 is of no interest. It's a name and nothing else. There is zero chance he'll show even flashes of what he once had. He's just an older athlete now in desperate need of money who sees boxing as the best way to get it.
But his return does allow one to think of what might have been in the heavyweight division had he been able to stay on the up and up and not wind up in prison.