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The Mike Tyson Influence: Three heavyweights set to make comebacks following Paul-Tyson

Written by Tom Eaton on 14th November 2024.

Mike Tyson

Friday night plays host to the eyebrow-raising showdown between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson who top a strong card in Texas that can be watched live on Netfllx. However, whether by influence or coincidence, Mike Tyson is not the only heavyweight of the 1990’s to be returning in the coming months – with a trifecta of pre-millennial powerhouses set to join him.

Ike Ibeabuchi

When the great heavyweights of the 1990’s are mentioned, the likes of Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis understandably stick out. However, amongst those superstars there was a plethora of under-appreciated talent beneath, none more so than Ike Ibeabuchi. Now, at 51-years-old, ‘The President’ is set to make a shocking comeback to professional boxing.

Regarded as one of the strongest punchers amongst the star-studded crop of heavyweights at the time, Ike Ibeabuchi was honing in on a shot at the heavyweight world title after winning his first 16 professional contests and scoring numerous eye-catching knockout wins along the way.

Then, in 1997, the Nigerian jumped up in competition and stepped through the ropes for his toughest task to date, going toe-to-toe with fellow title hopeful David Tua in what turned out to be a heavyweight classic.

Ibeabuchi and Tua broke the record for punches thrown in a heavyweight bout covered by CompuStat, throwing 1,730 total punches between them, 975 being thrown by Ibeabuchi (avg. 81 per round) – that being an individual record for a heavyweight.

As a result, it was Ibeabuchi who claimed the unanimous-decision win and proved himself as a worthy contender for the WBC heavyweight world title, held by Lennox Lewis at the time.

Instead, Ibeabuchi attempted to gain further experience at the world level and scored a trifecta of increasingly difficult knockout wins against Tim Ray, Everton Davis and Chris Byrd to better prepare himself for a title shot – although it would never come.

In July 1999, Ibeabuchi was arrested and eventually sentenced to prison for battery with intent to commit a crime and attempted sexual assault, leaving him imprisoned until his release in November 2015.

Five months later, Ibeabuchi was arrested once again after violating the conditions of his probation, ending hopes of a comeback to boxing as he was forced to serve an additional four years behind bars until release in September 2020.

Four years on and it seems as though Ibeabuchi (20-0) will finally get the boxing comeback that he has been craving, officially scheduled to take on 47-year-old Ayman Farouk Abbas (4-10-1) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria on December 7th in a six-round affair.

Farouk’s most notable result is a split-draw against America’s Christopher Lovejoy (20-1) in Egypt last year, despite being knocked down and appearing to lose all six rounds.

Ibeabuchi will be hoping that he gets a fairer shake than Lovejoy received when he and Farouk meet next month. Although, if Ibeabuchi is half the fighter that he was the last time he fought professionally, the judges will not be required.

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Shannon Briggs

Shannon Briggs

Fabled heavyweight knockout artist Shannon Briggs has been prevalent in the influencer boxing scene since hanging up the gloves but now seems set to go one step further and make a comeback to the ring. Now, the 52-year-old has revealed a date for when he expects to make his ring return.

After winning a national championship as an amateur, Briggs turned professional in 1992 and went on to defeat his first 25 opponents, winning by knockout on 20 occasions, before he was halted by Darroll Wilson in 1996.

However, four consecutive stoppage wins earnt ‘The Cannon’ a shot at beloved heavyweight veteran George Foreman, who he defeated by majority-decision in what turned out to be Foreman’s final contest.

That victory thrust Briggs into a world title shot against WBC title-holder Lennox Lewis but the American came up short and was stopped in the fifth-round and would not return to the title picture for many years to come.

Eight-and-a-half years later, after a streak of 11 straight victories, Briggs was finally able to get his hands on a world title when he pulled off a dramatic final-round knockout against WBO champion Siarhei Liakhovich whilst behind on the scorecards.

Briggs would lose his belt without making a defence and was outpointed by Vitali Klitschko to a final challenge for world honours in 2010, before registering 10 straight wins and hanging up the gloves in 2016.

Yet, despite hanging up the gloves, Briggs is often seen at fight nights across the pond and famously trained YouTuber Logan Paul for his fight against KSI in 2019.

Now, Briggs has confirmed that he is actively pursuing a comeback to boxing, whether that be as a professional or with Misfits, he told Fred Talks Fighting.

“I miss it actually, I am looking to get back into shape. I have been in the gym and I’m looking to hopefully be ready to fight again by March.

“I am going to fight again.

“[I would fight on Misfits] if the money is right, yeah, but I am getting back in shape and I’m back in the gym, I am hitting hard, I am strong.”

“I am just as fast as I was.”

The former WBO heavyweight champion is yet to receive an official fight date but has called out the winner of Paul-Tyson – which would line up with a return in Spring 2025.

Oliver McCall

Oliver McCall

The Paul-Tyson event is one that is being criticized by the masses and the return of the aforementioned fighters is likely to be treat similarly given their age. Yet, despite being the oldest of the quartet, McCall’s return is probably the one that causes the least concern.

What separates Oliver McCall from the pack is that his latest outing was as recent as 2019, meaning the granite chinned 59-year-old will end a five-year spell of inactivity, just a fraction of the quarter of a century since Ibeabuchi last stepped through the ropes.

Trained by legendary champion Joe Frazier, McCall had a tough start to life in the heavyweight division and lost his second official contest to Joey Christjohn, before eventually losing an additional four fights prior to his shot at the heavyweight crown.

Consequently, McCall entered the ring to take on undefeated WBC champion Lennox Lewis as a major underdog, but ‘The Atomic Bull’ pulled off a monumental upset to halt the British-Canadian within just two rounds and become a shock champion back in 1994.

McCall would defend the belts against an ageing Larry Holmes the following year but his reign came to an end at Wembley Stadium when he was outpointed by Frank Bruno in a famous moment in British boxing history.

The Chicago-born big man would later lose the 1997 rematch to Lewis in confusing fashion in a second world title challenge and never returned to the heavyweight throne, but remained in the division for years to come, banking wins against lowly contenders.

In 2014, McCall became one of, if not the only fighter, to avenge a defeat of his sons, a testament of his insane longevity, although in 2019 McCall decided that enough was enough and called time on his 34-year career.

Yet, McCall has since decided that he is not done yet and will return to action to fight Stacy Frazier (16-22), who has also not fought since 2019, in a four-round bout on a card in Nashville.

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Former opponent of IBF super-middleweight champion William Scull, Sean Hemphill (16-2) will also appear on the ‘Country Box’ card, on Tuesday November 19th, with tickets available for purchase here.

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