"The story of Ike Ibeabuchi is one of the strangest in modern boxing
history and Luke G. Williams has told it with great clarity,
sensitivity, and skill. President of Pandemonium is crammed with raw and
revealing details as Williams draws us into the unsettling world of a
man as vulnerable as he was destructive. It is a gripping read."--Donald
McRae, The Guardian
Ike "The President" Ibeabuchi had the boxing world at his feet in 1997
after vanquishing David Tua in a battle for the ages in Sacramento. The
Nigerian heavyweight's subsequent descent into a vortex of mental
illness and crime and punishment was as shocking as it was tragic.
Was Ibeabuchi a vulnerable man exploited by a ruthless sport and a
dysfunctional criminal justice system, or was he guilty-as-charged for
his deeds and rightly punished?
Somewhere amid a colorful cast of characters including Republican
politicians, crooked promoters, and demons hiding in air-conditioning
units, lies the uncomfortable truth.
In President of Pandemonium, Luke G. Williams vividly recreates
Ibeabuchi's life in and out of the ring. Combining exclusive interviews
with those who guided his career and observed him closely, as well as
firsthand testimony from "The President" himself, this is a story of
brilliance destroyed by dark forces, both real and imagined.