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“President of Pandemonium: The Mad World of Ike Ibeabuchi” by Luke G. Williams

BOOK REVIEW by THOMAS HAUSER — Ike Ibeabuchi (who styled himself as “The President”) came from afar. Born in Nigeria, he moved to the United States to pursue a career in professional boxing and compiled a 20-0 (15 KOs) ring record between 1994 and 1999. His two signature victories were a 1997 decision over David Tua in an enthralling non-stop slugfest and a fifth-round demolition of Chris Byrd in 1999. Tua and Byrd were undefeated when Ibeabuchi fought them. He was the best heavyweight to ever come out of Africa. One can only speculate what might have happened had he fought Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield.
Luke G. Williams recounts Ibeabuchi’s life to date in “President of Pandemonium: The Mad World of Ike Ibeabuchi” (the most recent offering from Hamilcar in its Noir True Crime Library).
Ibeabuchi had demons. He was mentally ill and violent outside the ring as well as in it.
Eric Bottjer, who served as a matchmaker for Cedric Kushner (Ibeabuchi’s promoter) told Williams, “I’ve been around boxing long enough to realize that it’s not a normal profession and a lot of boxers are not normal human beings. But Ike is the only fighter I’ve ever met who I would say was literally insane. I recall having a conversation with Cedric where I said I thought Ike was a dangerous human being who was capable of killing somebody.”
Ron Scott Stevens, who also worked for Kushner, looked back on fight week for Ibeabuchi-Byrd and recalled, “The whole week, I was like, ‘Please, let me stay away from this guy!’ One day they asked me to bring up some lunch for him. I knocked on the door and couldn’t wait to get the hell away. He was intimidating and frightening.”
After meeting with Ibeabuchi prior to Ibeabuchi-Byrd, HBO blow-by-blow commentator Jim Lampley told his colleagues, “That man’s crazy.”
But as Lampley acknowledged to Williams, “Everybody in the sport – whether you’re Cedric Kushner, Lou DiBella, or Curtis Cokes [Ibeabuchi’s trainer] – has the dream to get hold of somebody who might have some conceivable shot at becoming the heavyweight champion. If you can get that championship, it takes your life to the next level. Ibeabuchi was a dream commodity for everyone involved with him.”
Thus, the enablers. But eventually Ibeabuchi’s conduct went beyond anything that could be enabled.
On August 26, 1997 (less than three months after beating Tua), Ibeabuchi was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempted murder. As recounted by Williams, “Ibeabuchi drove his car straight into a concrete pillar on the embankment of a bridge on Interstate 35. With him in the vehicle was the fifteen-year-old son of his estranged girlfriend. Ibeabuchi emerged miraculously unhurt, but his teenage passenger had a broken pelvis, ankle, and jaw, as well as a diagnosis that he might never walk properly again. The authorities assumed initially that it was an accident. After interviewing the teenage boy involved, however, prosecutors became convinced that Ibeabuchi caused the crash on purpose. The boy alleged that Ibeabuchi had initially told him they were ‘going on a journey.’ But after leaving Dallas County he decided he no longer wanted to be in the car. When he tried to get out, he said, Ibeabuchi struck him in the face. Ike then continued driving before he smashed the car straight into the concrete pillar.”
Eventually, the charges were plea-bargained down. Ibeabuchi pled guilty to false imprisonment and was sentenced to 120 days in jail. “The main issue of the case,” district attorney Ken Anderson said, “was whether or not he was trying to injure the young man. Our final conclusion was that he was severely depressed and was trying to commit suicide.”
There was more to come. In December 1998, Ibeabuchi was arrested in Las Vegas on a charge of sexual assault involving a prostitute. But the Clark County District Attorney’s office felt there was a lack of evidence and chose to not pursue the matter.
That was followed by a more serious incident at The Mirage in Las Vegas in July 1999. Again, Ibeabuchi sought out a prostitute. Then, according to court papers, he “forcibly detained, battered, and digitally penetrated both the vagina and anus” of the victim. When police arrived at his hotel room, Ibeabuchi barricaded himself in the bathroom after which the police shot pepper spray under the door to force him out. Several weeks later, while in custody, he assaulted a corrections officer.
Ibeabuchi was released on $750,000 bail but arrested again – this time in Arizona – after two female escort service workers alleged that he had sexually assaulted them and held them against their will. By the time things were sorted out, he was found mentally competent to stand trial in Nevada and entered into a plea deal that led to a sentence of five-to-thirty years in prison. Ibeabuchi was also convicted of sexual assault and sexual abuse in Arizona. Eventually, he was paroled in Nevada and taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because of his status as a Nigerian national. Next, after being released by ICE, he was taken into custody in Arizona for violation of parole. He was released from prison in Arizona on September 23, 2020, but transferred once again to immigration custody. His future status is unclear.
Ibeabuchi is now 48 years old and hasn’t boxed professionally for more than twenty-two years. But in today’s sordid world, despite his demons, it’s possible that he will fight again.
Williams is an accomplished writer. Previously, he authored Richmond Unchained – a superb book that recounts the life of Bill Richmond, who rose to prominence, first as a fighter in Georgian England and then as the trainer of Tom Molineaux. Given Williams’s credentials, President of Pandemonium is a bit of a disappointment. It doesn’t have the depth or texture of Richmond Unchained and reads more like a long magazine article than the type of scholarly work that Williams is capable of researching and writing. That said, it’s the most comprehensive look at Ike Ibeabuchi that boxing fans are likely to find.
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book – Broken Dreams: Inside Another Year Inside Boxing – will be published by the University of Arkansas Press this autumn. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, he was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.
Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.
Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.
The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.
In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.
Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.
Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.
From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.
“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”
Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.
Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”
Other Bouts
Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.
A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.
The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.
San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.
Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.
Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.
With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.
Co-Feature
Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.
Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.
Other Bouts of Note
New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.
In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.
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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.
It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.
Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.
In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.
The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.
As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) — has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.
Other Bouts of Note
In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.
Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.
A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.
It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.
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