Twenty-six years and five months after a fifth-round stoppage win over then-unbeaten future champion Chris Byrd, Ike Ibeabuchi was successful in his return.

Idris Afinni (18-9-2, 15 KOs) was his short-notice opponent, not Danny Williams as first planned, and the 40-year-old gave as good as he got on the back foot before retiring after three completed rounds at Lagos' Teslim Balogun Stadium, Nigeria, late Saturday.

Ibeabuchi (21-0, 16 KOs) looked every bit the muscle-bound 6-foot-2 heavyweight many critics deemed a divisional boogeyman in the 1990s, though now 52 it's impossible to ignore the circumstances which led us here.

Also know as "The President," the Isuochi-born Nigerian was making his first professional appearance on home soil after previously being based in Dallas, Texas.

Ibeabuchi was deported to Nigeria in 2021, having served a 16-year jail term for battery with intent, attempted sexual assault and violating parole conditions in Las Vegas, Nevada.

His story was sad but far from unique, another promising boxing career cut short by crime. It serves as another reason many — fans and journalists alike — try their best to separate the very best athletes from their beliefs, interests and extracurricular activities.

Prizefighting.tv, who proudly took charge of Ibeabuchi's return and offered it at a $30 pay-per-view price, heralded this show as a historic event. While Ibeabuchi planned to return as early as November 2015, he was rearrested before that desire could become reality.

During the build up, he bullishly told reporters at a press conference that his 26-year layoff "meant nothing" and that he would prove exactly that, albeit against an unheralded name 13 years his junior — who campaigned at cruiserweight and only had three victories over opposition with positive win-loss records.

He was consistent with a desire to elevate from carefully-presented squash matches to the glamour division's very best: calling out two-weight undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. Tyson Fury and the Mancunian's Queensberry stablemate Moses Itauma were on his shortlist when speaking to Yahoo Sports pre-fight.

Mike Tyson and Oliver McCall are just two notable names who've made in-ring returns with contrasting success over the past year, while Evander Holyfield's short-lived 2021 comeback should serve as a timely warning for others seeking the same.

It won't.