How many people actually beat Ike, Wlad and Vitali combined ? Byrd fought many elite heavyweights if you consider top ranked fighters elite. They may not be all time greats but they were elite as far as rankings and quality of opposition in his era. That's all a man can do.
The claim of the OP is ludicrous and yet some posters (a few of which come as no surprise) are flocking to it, as though it were a revelation. Let's just remind ourselves of the OP's ( This content is protected ) rationale... Of Chris Byrd, Brydie states... "I think he was nearly as good as Lennox Lewis in the early 2000s ( This content is protected ). - Beat ( This content is protected ) Holyfield by ( This content is protected ) a wider margin than Lewis managed. ( This content is protected ) - Beat a lighter version ( This content is protected ) of Tua. - Both had trouble against Vitali, but ultimately got the win ( This content is protected ). - McLine, Oquendo and Williamson were about equal to Botha and Grant ( This content is protected ). - Byrd would have beaten Tyson and Rahman ( This content is protected ). - Byrd would stand a good chance against Lewis in a head to head match-up ( This content is protected )." In terms of levels, Lewis is way above Byrd; superior in every sense. There's no realistic comparison to be made between them and their respective ledgers illustrate this. As such, Byrd's resume gets the appropriate rating - not bad, all things considered - but nothing special, either.
The post wasn't really aimed at you specifically but, with regard to your reply: No, you haven't, but that's fine. You're either a troll or a 'believer'. Neither one can be reasoned with.
Byrd, who achieved the Ring Magazine rank of #1 in the world has a very good resume. He beat his share of contenders. He has two wins over hall of fame fighters. And yes, Lewis who didn't like Southpaws avoided him. Better stated who at heavyweight active today as a better resume? No one and its not even close.
Good post. Completely agreed. I think Prime Byrd beats all of today's Heavyweights, other than Fury and maybe Usyk. And yes, he has a better resume than any of them.
Looks like he was booted shame I was looking to foward Byrd beats prime Ali, prime Foreman and prime Frazier.