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Nigeria-born heavyweight force Kingsley “The Back Lion” Ibeh (15-2-1, 13 KOs), a former college/pro football player, is preparing at home in Phoenix to showcase the dramatic development he’s made on January 31st against Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (26-1-2, 22 KOs) on a stacked “The Ring VI” card at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Headlined by the world lightweight title fight between Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) and Shaker Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs), “The Ring VI” will be streamed live on DAZN.
Ibeh was a “green” prospect on February 23, 2021, when he fought Jared Anderson (7-0, 7 KOs) in Las Vegas, despite both heavyweights fighting in their eighth pro fights. Ibeh was a transitioning athlete who had been a football lineman in college at Washington University (Topeka, KS) and then in the Canadian Football League. Anderson had been one of the top amateurs in the world, capturing the prestigious USA National Championships back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
“I lost the fight (KO6) with Anderson before I went into the ring,” Ibeh explained. “I was inexperienced, especially compared to his (amateur) background. I was in pursuit of greatness, but was only in my eighth fight after turning pro. I lost because I didn’t give myself time to grow. I learned that boxing is more mental than physical.”
Ibeh had also lost his pro debut and, in his seventh pro fight, he fought Italian heavyweight Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (7-0, 7 KOs) to a 6-round majority draw.
“I got better from my losses and draw,” Ibeh admitted. “I have a football nature to win or win – not losing – by learning from every fight, even a loss, as long as I had fought my best. What I’ve improved the most is in angles. I don’t want my opponent to see my punches coming. Now, I understand the game; it’s not all physical and more like a chess match. I’m also more confident because I know what to do. I even like getting hit, going to toe-to-toe, because blood gets me going. It gets me excited…..even if it’s my own. I know it only takes one punch to land for it to cost me a fight.”
Anderson (18-1, 15 KOs) is now rated No. 5 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO), as well as No. 15 by the World Boxing Council (WBC). Vianello (14-3-1, 12 KOs) is ranked No. 8 and No. 12, respectively, by the IBF and WBC.
Meanwhile, Ibeh is riding an 11-fight win streak, 10 by knockout, and the current WBC FECARBOX Heavyweight Champion. Yet, the highest he is rated in world rankings is No. 30 by the WBC.
“Kingsley isn’t the same fighter who fought Anderson at MGM Grand (in Las Vegas),” international matchmaker Whit Haydon noted. “Ibeh took a tough fight. The media and fans are always complaining about fighters picking-and-choosing their hand-picked opponents, but when a fighter takes a tough fight like Kingsley did and loses, you get punished into a long rebuild. Ibeh was relatively new to boxing in 2020; he was a football player. It took five long years for him to get here, and Ibeh’s plan is to leave the Big Apple as a star.”
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