Kingsley Ibeh vs Scott Alexander Preview January 10th, 2025
Kingsley ‘The Black Lion’ Ibeh of Nigeria tangles with Scott Alexander of Los Angeles, California over 10 rounds this Friday, January 10th for the WBC Latino Heavyweight Belt. The fight takes place in Tacoma, Washington. Ibeh last fought in October when he stopped previously unbeaten Jack May in just 50 seconds to capture the vacant Latino Title. Alexander’s last fight resulted a fourth round stoppage to Frank Sanchez in September, 2023 in a shot at the WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Crown.
Ibeh vs Alexander Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Scott Alexander +400
- Kingsley Ibeh -600
My Pick
The 31-year-old Ibeh, who fights out of Phoenix, Arizona, boasts a record of 14-2-1 with 12 Ko’s and has boxed just 49 rounds since making his pro debut in 2019. He’s a former football defensive lineman who played at Washburn University and in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and is a cousin of notorious heavyweight Ike Ibeabuchi. He stands 6-feet-4-inches tall with an 80-inch reach and is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak.
When it comes to power, Ibeh has plenty of it as 85.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including four in a row and eight of his last nine. He hasn’t beaten any contenders however and when he did step up in class earlier in his career he couldn’t get over the hump. Ibeh lost his second pro fight to Waldo Cortes Acosta via a four-round split decision in 2019 but stopped Acosta in the fourth round a year later in their rematch.
Ibeh faced Guido Vianello in 2020 as well and battled to a six-round draw. His second defeat came at the hands of Jared Anderson in February, 2021 when he was halted in the sixth and final round. Ibeh has recorded seven first-round knockouts with two in the second round, two in the third and one in the fourth stanza and that’s why he’s boxed just 49 rounds as a pro.
The 35-year-old Alexander steps into the ring with a mark of 17-6-2 with 9 Ko’s. He’s boxed 102 rounds since making his pro debut in 2009 and is pretty durable even though he’s been stopped twice in his six defeats. Those losses came at the hands of Rodney Hernandez by six-round unanimous decision in 2015; to LaRon Mitchell by 10-round unanimous decision in 2016 for the vacant NABF Junior Heavyweight Title; to Travis Kauffman via a 10-round majority decision in 2018; to Carlos Negron by eight-round unanimous decision in 2021; by a first-round stoppage to Zhilei Zhang in May, 2022 and the fourth-round stoppage by Frank Sanchez in his last outing.
Alexander’s draws were four-round affairs with Marcus Dickerson in 2010 and with Tracey Johnson in 2016. He measures 6-feet-3-inches tall with a 75-inch reach so gives an inch in height to Ibeh as well as five inches in reach. As far as his power is concerned, nine of Alexander’s 17 wins have been by stoppage for a current knockout ratio of 53 per cent. He took a step up in class against Zhang in 2022 and Sanchez in 2023 and was stopped relatively early in both fights.
Prediction…
Ibeh has the size and power to become a legitimate heavyweight contender but soon needs to raise the level of opposition and beat them. He’s a big guy and has entered the ring anywhere from 238 lbs to 299.5 lbs and weighed 283 in his last outing in October. Alexander hasn’t fought since September, 2023 and ring rust will be a problem. I’m expecting Ibeh to halt Alexander in the early rounds in this contest.
Ibeh’s explosive power should be the difference.
Play Ibeh -600 @ BetOnline.ag
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Kingsley Ibeh betting • Scott Alexander betting