Say Gvozdyk beats Beterbiev.. sure it's certainly not a gimme.. but if he does, would it be a better win than Usyks over Gassiev? I know more belts were involved but they offer similar threat levels, ring presence & pose similar attributes don't they? I'd be hugely impressed if he beat him in a similar manner too.. Usyk made an absolute ring menace (in what was considered a 50/50 fight) look like a pudding.. I think I personally would still favour Usyks win but does anyone disagree? Just putting it out there..
Yes it's 10 times better than Gassiev. Beterbiev is levels above Gassiev, Gassiev went life and death with a 40 year old Lebedev ffs. Belts don't mean ****. Beterbiev is the better fighter. Only idiots thought Usyk vs Gassiev was 50/50. Gassiev isn't that good.
inb4 liquorice spends the next hour digging through my post to try and find a post of me picking Gassiev over Usyk
He's good enough but he's a bit one dimensional as Usyk and Leberdev showed.(I had Leberdev a draw) This fight is one for the purists as both are highly skilled and it's hard to call imo.
Beterbiev is a more decorated amateur compared to Gassiev, generally considered a better fighter. I've never been that impressed with Beterbiev, his movement looks very basic..., though it maybe deceptively basic..
Both are extremely hard punchers but Beterbiev cuts the ring much better than Gassiev does. Beterbiev had lots of problems against good boxers in the amateurs (not only Usyk, I had Hunter beating him clearly at the Olympics while officially he lost on countback with 10-10 score), but Beterbiev was always able to keep fight close because he cut the ring so effectively
For all Beterbievs power it's usually the case in 50/50 fights that the opposition takes the shots better than the norm. Tough one to call by I'd probably favour the Nail.
Well.... for what it's worth, I'd pick 40 year old Lebedev to beat Beterbiev fairly comprehensively. Denis is a far better boxer than anyone Beterbiev has ever shared the ring with. That being said, Beterbiev has a few intangibles that Gassiev lacks, like his ability to cut off the ring and slightly better punch selection.
Are we talking H2H or at cruiser? Beterbiev is just one of those fighters who isn't proven as a pro, but imo he's a p4p monster. He's levels above Gassiev. I would honestly even rate him above Usyk in terms of just p4p, obviously Usyk is faaaar more proven though.
At Cruiser, which isn't out of the question, after all Beterbiev fought at Cruiser in the amateurs, otherwise known as regular Heavyweight. Skillwise, he's slightly better than Gassiev, as far as P4P goes, I doubt he'll ever be a factor. He's regressed a lot as a pro, hasn't overly impressed me since the Cloud and Campillo matches. Almost like with Khytrov, he fell in love with his power and let his skillset stagnate. In no way shape or form is he anywhere near Usyk, his resume doesn't come close, and probably never will. Although it will get a huge boost if he beats Gvozdyk.