Kingsley Ikeke and Jake Paul are bound by a brutal injury.
Ikeke, a retired Nigerian-born boxer who once fought for a world title, suffered a broken jaw in 2010 while sparring. About 16 years later, Ikeke said, he watched Anthony Joshua break Paul’s jaw in two places with a knockout punch that ended the heavyweight fight on Dec. 19 in Miami.
“Now he’s going to realize that boxing is not a joke,’’ Ikeke, 52, told USA TODAY Sports of Paul, “because he was underestimatng the boxers.’
Ikeke’s story helps explain resentment directed at the 28-year-old Paul and why there’s no guarantee he will box again.
It’s been nearly two weeks since Paul underwent emergency surgery at the University of Miami hospital for his own jaw injury. He has vowed to fight again, and multiple doctors say there’s no reason Paul can’t.
But then there is Ikeke.
A 37-year-old super middleweight when his jaw was broken, Ikeke remained hopeful of boxing again. But complications following surgery ended his career and dreams of winning a world title, according to Ikeke and one of his former trainers, Eric Brown.
“You don’t hear about those types of stories.’’ said Peter Quillin, the boxer who broke Ikeke’s jaw.
‘I was so stubborn’
Jake Paul grew up in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, with his older brother, Logan. He left home for Hollywood before he graduated from high school — and he was a multimillionaire social media star and Disney Channel actor years before he started boxing.
In Nigeria, Ikeke said, his father had 12 children. But Ikeke said he did not know them well and grew up with his grandparents. His grandfather had a wood-hauling business and his grandmother ran restaurants, according to Ikeke.
“At the age of three years old, I tell my grandfather, I want to be a boxer,’’ Ikeke said. “You know what he tell me? He said, ‘White man will kill you.’ Because I was so skinny. But at the same time I was so stubborn.’’
By 1994, Ikeke stood 6-foot-4 and was a promising 21-year-old boxer. That year, at the Commonwealth Games in Canada, Ikeke won his opening bout, lost an elimination bout and then left the Nigerian team.
He settled in Canada and eventually moved to Los Angeles.
“I left everybody behind,’’ Ikeke said. “You have to keep on fighting, going your own.’’
Fighting inside, outside the ring
Jake Paul started his pro career 12-1. Ikeke started his pro career 14-0. But that’s where story diverges again.
For his second pro bout, Paul fought on the undercard of the exhibition fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. It was the first clear sign his social media stardom would lead to high-profile fights that most boxers will never get.
Ikeke, for example, was just fighting for what he was promised. By contrast, Ikeke found himself fighting inside and outside the ring.
He filed paperwork stating his manager had failed to obtain good faith offers of a boxing match, exhibitions or contests. In 2003, an arbiter ruled in Ikeke’s favor and the California State Athletic Commission declared the contract null and void.
Paul had the help of Netflix in setting up mega fights, like his bout with Tyson in 2024 and with Joshua last month. Ikeke went looking for someone to get a fair shot.
He was 23-1 in 2005 when he got his first big shot — a fight against Arthur Abraham with the vacant IBF world middleweight championship at stake and legendary trainer Freddie Roach in Ikeke’s corner.
Ikeke got knocked out in the fifth round.
He did not return to the ring for almost 20 months.
Then he lost again before four straight victories created hope of a second world title fight.
‘Yeah, he had a shot, for sure,” said Brown, one of Kingsley’s former trainers.
Infectious happiness and wounds
Winning a fifth straight victory was the plan in June 2010 when Ikeke was training for an upcoming fight. Suddenly he headed from Wild Card Boxing Club, the Los Angeles-gym owned by Roach, and for a nearby emergency room.
By the time he was healthy enough to attempt a comeback, it was too late, according to Brown..
‘Because he was inactive for so long, he lost his ranking and his age was another factor,” the trainer said.
Ikeke said he still sees specialists after his jaw failed to heal after the emergency surgery. His pro boxing record stands at 27-3 with 14 KOs.
In September 2022, Ikeke returned to Wild Card Boxing Club. In a group photo, Ikeke stood next to Roach and smiled.
“The happiness was infectious and mutual,’’ said Roach’s wife, Marie Spivey, who took the photo.
But not all of the wounds have healed for Ikeke, who said he works with disadvantaged children, including those with autism, and has five children of his own. “There’s too much politics in boxing,’’ he grumbled, lamenting the inability to get bigger fights before his career ended.
Ikeke says he no longer watches boxing but made an exception for the fight between Paul and Joshua.
“He may not come back,’’ Ikeke said, referring to the broken jaw, “But if he meet the right doctors, he will come back.’’