How would Beterbiev do prime for prime against the 4 other elite LHWs in recent years? Gvozdyk actually happened. The result was Beterbiev knockout. He didn't punch hard enough to get Beterbiev's respect. He would stop Bivol. Dmitry doesn't hit hard enough to go the full 12. Eventually Artur gets to him. He would stop Ward. Actually, Beterbiev is a stylistic nightmare for Ward. He is all sorts of wrong for Ward's hugging and mugging style. Kovalev would probably beat Beterbiev and may even stop him. Sergey could really punch, and unlike Smith Jr. he can really box as well. If you can't punch like a freight train, you can't get the man off of you. And if you can't box then he will eventually find you and take you out. Kovalev I think had the tools to really do a job on him.
Styles make fights. Kovalev has the power and boxing skill to pull it off. The others do not. RJJ is not a recent elite LHW.
Kovalev's lack of discipline and weak body would always betray him. Beterbiev already beat him twice as an amateur, remember.
I think Bivol is a better matchup than Kovalev. Bivol’s in and out style and elite footwork make him harder to hit cleanly. I’m not saying I would favor Bivol but I think he’d have the best chance. I think this is a really tough matchup for Ward too but he did always find a way to win.
I think Beterbiev would close the distance on Kov effectively and break him down. Kovalev was a good not great outboxer. You may be underestimating Ward. His greatest talent was disrupting his opponent's offense, and Beterbiev is not a wildly imaginative fighter. Would be a great fight with Beterbiev really pushing him inside, tho.
He certainly defeats the likes of Kovalev, Cleverly and Froch .. I'm not so sure about Ward though. It would be a tough fight for sure, but Ward made an absolute career of finding the most feared and highly rated and often undefeated European fighters and dominating them to the point that they are never the same again. As for Adonis Steveson this would be a fight of the century, but I see it spiralling into an Al out brawl pretty quickly and I think Stevensons power would be too much if Beterbiev allowed himself to get hit more than a couple of times
Ward had a lot of trouble in the 11th and 12th rounds dealing with Carl Froch's physical strength. Beterbiev is twice as strong as Froch. Ward will not be able to get him off for the full 12. No man is running away 12 rounds against prime Beterbiev. You need to punch him in the goddamn head and hard. Enter Kovalev.
You're entitled to your opinion but I'm not feeling this. First class fighter in his prime but not near ATG level. I never thought he was top 5 pfp for that matter. Top 10 tho.