The 51-year-old boxing icon, nicknamed “Nigeria’s Mike Tyson”, returns to the ring after 20 years behind bars.

Undefeated heavyweight Ike Ibeabuchi, 20-0, is set to return to the ring after a 25-year hiatus.

The powerful Nigerian will return on December 7 in his home country against Egypt’s Ayman Farouk Abbas at the ripe old age of 51.

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Ibeabuchi was a rising contender in the 1990s and was on the verge of a world title shot at the end of the decade after big wins over David Tua and Chris Bird.

However, his career cut short before he could realize his dream.

In 1999, four months after brutally defeating the previously undefeated Bird in the seventh round, Ibeabuchi was arrested after taking a Las Vegas call girl hostage.

Ibeabuchi locked the woman in a closet of his hotel room, barricaded himself in the bathroom and only surrendered to police when pepper spray was released from under the door.

The 21-year-old woman said she came to undress and claimed she was attacked by Ibeabuchi after demanding payment in advance.

His legal defense was complicated by the renewal of a similar sexual assault charge against him eight months earlier.

Ibeabuchi was released on bail and placed under house arrest, but was remanded in custody after two more similar allegations surfaced.

He was sentenced to 2 to 10 years in prison for battery with intent to commit a crime and 3 to 20 years for attempted sexual assault after being found incompetent to stand trial due to his bipolar disorder.

In November 2015, he was released from prison and began making progress towards a return to boxing.

However, just five months later, he was arrested again for violating his probation and was forced to serve another four years in prison before his eventual release in September 2020.

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Ibeabuchi has been free for more than four years and is set to fight Farouk at the Dite Spiff Civic Center in Port Harcourt in Nigeria next month.

Farook is 47 years old and has an unremarkable 4-10-1 record in the paid ranks.

If there is even a glimmer of Ibeabuchi’s old self left, Farouk is in for a tough night.

The American press of the 1990s dubbed him “The Nigerian”. Mike Tyson” thanks to his explosive style of action and, like his hero, he possessed ungodly strength.

Ibeabuchi was inspired to take up boxing after watching Tyson’s stunning loss to James “Buster” Douglas in 1990, and arrived in the United States three years later to pursue his dream.

He turned pro in 1994 and, after an impressive 16-0 record, faced undefeated prospect Tua in the fight that made him famous.

The competition was intense from bell to bell and broke the record for the most strikes in a heavyweight bout.

They landed 1,730 punches, with 975 of them coming from Ibeabuchi, who was declared the winner by unanimous decision, according to CompuBox.

Further victories over Tim Ray, Everton Davis and eventual two-time world heavyweight titleholder Bird established Ibeabuchi as a champion in waiting, but his troubles outside the ring put an end to that.