UPDATE: Contrary to the initial announcement, the return to the ring of Nigerian boxer Ike Ibeabuchi—now 52 years old and absent from competitive boxing for over 26 years—will not see him face British journeyman Danny Williams.
According to an official statement from Prizefighting.tv, the event’s promoter, Williams has withdrawn from the bout and will be replaced by 40-year-old Nigerian Idris Afinni, who holds a record of 18 wins, 8 losses, and 2 draws, with 15 victories by KO.
In the statement, Prizefighting.tv emphasized that promoters, when organizing fights, “rely upon representations from fighters, their managers, and trainers.” A statement likely aimed at those, like us, who have accused the promotional company of trying to profit from a dangerous event involving fighters unfit to compete in a professional boxing match.
It sounds like a joke, but unfortunately, it’s not. On August 23, in Nigeria, Ike Ibeabuchi and Danny Williams, both 52 years old, will step into the ring to face each other in a professional boxing match. The bout will take place under the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control and will be broadcast live on PPV by Prizefighting TV at a price of $29.99.
Ike Ibeabuchi has been inactive since March 20, 1999, when he brutally knocked out Chris Byrd in five rounds. At the time, he was already showing signs of mental instability: in 1997, he had kidnapped the 15-year-old son of his ex-girlfriend and then drove his car at high speed into a highway pillar with the boy inside. A likely suicide attempt that left the teenager with permanent physical damage.
Ibeabuchi’s irrational and violent behavior worsened over time, eventually leading to a conviction for assault and sexual battery against an escort, which ended his boxing career and put him behind bars until 2015. He was later released, but soon returned to prison for another four years for violating the terms of his probation. He was finally released from custody in September 2020.
Danny Williams, on the other hand, fought his last professional bout just two years ago, but his situation is no less concerning than that of his next opponent. The British boxer, who gained massive fame for defeating a declining Mike Tyson in four rounds back in 2004, has lost 24 of his last 36 fights, has already suffered 17 career defeats by KO, and was stripped of his license by the British Board of Control back in 2012 after being deemed unfit to continue competing.
Since then, Williams has been fighting around the world in countries that still allow him to enter the ring. Although he claims he keeps fighting only to pay for his children’s private school tuition, several people close to him have voiced serious concerns to the press about his mental health.
Boxe Punch strongly expresses its opposition to this disheartening spectacle and hopes that neither of the two fighters suffers serious injury. Particularly shameful is the behavior of Prizefighting TV, which has decided to profit from this sad pseudo-sporting event and is promoting it on its website with images of Ibeabuchi’s KO over Byrd and Williams’ KO over Mike Tyson—a sordid attempt to convince potential buyers that the August 23 event is a real fight between real boxers.