#109: ‘President of Pandemonium’ by Luke G. Williams

‘President of Pandemonium’ is Luke G. Williams’ attempt to document the wild life story of 1990s heavyweight prospect Ike Ibeabuchi. Published by Hamilcar Noir.

This might seem quite a claim considering some of the crazy life stories written about in the books on this blog, but this might be the saddest boxing story I’ve read. The combination of a young boxer so far away from home, clearly suffering from an untreated mental health illness, and the waste of an extraordinary talent, makes for a depressing reflection.

Of course, professional boxing is full of tales of young boxers being exploited by managers and promoters (even a number who perhaps truly believed they were acting in the best interests of their boxers), but the rush to make money off such a vulnerable young man is particularly depressing. This rush to cash in even continued as Ibeabuchi reached his forties and promoters attempted to get him released from prison so he could box again.

I rewatched his infamous points victory against David Tua before writing this post to remind myself of the man’s potential in the ring. Of course, the crimes he committed against women can’t ever be excused, but (as with a lot of other boxers) you do have to wonder what trajectory his life would have taken had he been surrounded by people looking out only for his wellbeing rather than personal profit.

The most interesting parts of this book are the recollections of some people close to Ibeabuchi who vehemently state that claims he was simply ‘crazy’ were gross overstatements. Boxing, like a lot of other sports, doesn’t collectively deal too well with characters who refuse to tow the line, so it’s easy to believe his behaviour was often misread. I also can’t ever get my head around the fact that, so often in this sport, people are constantly surprised that aggressive and intimidating personas are just that – all just an act.