Simon Ibekwe will be itching to prove he is in a class of his own when he battles Daniel Baer as Tyson Fury’s chief undercard this weekend.
The heavyweight fighter has done his homework in mixing it with Britain’s elite already, having previously been a part of Anthony Joshua’s camp for his IBF title defeat to Daniel Dubois.
The former schoolteacher also learnt the ropes as the sparring partner of ex-British heavyweight champion Jeamie TKV.
“I want to be where Jeamie is,” Ibekwe revealed earlier this year.
“I know I can get there and that’s why I left teaching.
“I loved my job and want to go back to working with young people again one day, but I got some sponsors and decided to focus on boxing.”
Footballer-turned-boxer on Fury undercard
Ibekwe (6-0, 3 KOs), who is managed by former British champion Scott Welch, turned professional in 2023 following 21 amateur bouts.
However, his sporting journey started with his feet, not his hands, as a ‘no-nonsense centre half’ who had trials at West Ham and Everton.
“I drifted into non-league and lost a bit of interest,” he added.
“I stayed in the gym and had always wanted to box, so I went to a gym in East London where I took a lot of beatings!”
It was there that Ibekwe, who grew up in Tottenham, met Lawrence Okolie and Dan Azeez before he relocated to Redditch in 2020.
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Daniel Baer vs Simon Ibekwe
This will be Ibekwe’s first pro bout overseas as he journeys to Pattaya, Thailand, to serve as the chief undercard act for Fury v Wach.
German Baer boasts a career record of 14 wins, 1 loss, and 1 no-contest, the latter of which came in his last bout in January.
The entire card won’t be live-streamed and instead is being filmed for headliner Fury’s Netflix docu-series ‘At Home with the Furys’.
However, talkSPORT.com will be on hand with all of the latest from Ibekwe against Baer, as well as the rest of fight night in our live blog.
Listen to talkSPORT through the website or find us on DAB digital radio through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
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Fury vs Wach: Undercard
Subject to change
- Tyson Fury vs Mariusz Wach – Heavyweight
- Daniel Baer vs Simon Ibekwe – Heavyweight
- Michael Alan Flannery vs TBC – Light-heavyweight
- Lucas Dassios vs TBC – Cruiserweight
- Mark Ahondjo vs TBC – Heavyweight
- Arlo Stephens vs TBC – Heavyweight
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