Nigerian-born boxer Ike Ibeabuchi is scheduled to return to the ring on August 23 in Lagos, marking his first professional bout in more than two decades.

Ibeabuchi, 52, who has not fought since 1999, is expected to face 52-year-old British boxer Danny Williams. If the bout proceeds as planned, it will be Ibeabuchi’s 21st professional contest and his first since defeating Chris Byrd by TKO more than 25 years ago. His current record stands at 20 wins, no losses, with 15 by knockout.

Ibeabuchi’s planned return has drawn attention largely due to the lengthy gap since his last appearance and the legal troubles that followed his boxing career. Once considered a promising contender in the heavyweight division, his trajectory was interrupted by a series of legal and mental health issues that led to extended prison time.

“Had he not gone away, he would have ruled the division for a while,” Byrd told BoxingScene. “Ike was a killer, a destroyer. He would go straight ahead like a young Mike Tyson… He hit me with his best shot and I didn’t see it.”

Despite such praise, Byrd noted that Ibeabuchi’s reputation has been shaped more by speculation than sustained performance. “When they talk about Ike being potentially great, he may have been, but he went away,” Byrd said. “We don’t know.”

Ibeabuchi’s history outside the ring includes serious criminal charges. In 1997, he was convicted after crashing his car with a teenager in the passenger seat in what was ruled an attempted suicide. In 1999, he was arrested for attempted sexual assault following an incident at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. He later entered an Alford plea and served multiple sentences totalling over a decade.

Released from prison in 2015, Ibeabuchi returned after violating parole and was re-released in 2020. Since then, he has teased multiple comebacks, none of which materialised.

This bout against Williams may be his first official return to competition, though observers remain cautious given his history of cancelled appearances. Williams, his opponent, has fought 89 times, winning 56 and losing 33, and has long been regarded as a veteran who continues to fight well past his peak.