Artur Beterbiev vs Chris Byrd

Ibeabuchi was 230+ pound monster how is that remotely comparable to Beterbiev ?

Yes it's all about styles and guess what ? Byrd already beat a 5'11 aggressive come forward fighter in Tua who is a bigger puncher than Beterbiev and considerably bigger.

 

Correction: Byrd made Vitali injure his shoulder by making Vitali swing at the air most times. And, as @Dynamicpuncher already pointed out, Vitali was nowhere close to stopping Byrd. Chris was getting better with every round.

 

Tua is nothing like Beterbiev, he is even shorter than him, plods around about as fast as a tortoise with a concussion, no defense against jabs and he throws isolated, looping power-shots that Byrd saw coming a mile away in their match.

If Usyk can’t stop Beterbiev from cutting the ring and swarming / bullying him in the clinch Byrd isn’t either, this is honestly a perfect HW match-up for Beterbiev to win.

 

Yes, Byrd.

 

Byrd.

 

Or how about we mention Tua hits alot harder than Beterbiev and outweighs him by atleast 30 or 40 pounds with a better chin ?

Yes Beterbiev may be more skilled than Tua but the extra size and power makes Tua a more dangerous H2H threat at Heavyweight.

Usyk lost to Beterbiev when he was 19 years old and then won the other 2 fights. I don't see how losing 2 fights to Usyk in the amateurs somehow means that Beterbiev can somehow beat Byrd at Heavyweight. When Beterbiev has 0 wins above Light Heavyweight in the professional ranks.

 

I’m surprised at how many are picking Beterbiev, especially since this is most likely meant to be at heavyweight.

Beterbiev does like to use his size as an advantage, I won’t say he relies on it because he doesn’t have skill, but he does like to wear guys down at time with his physical presence.

He wouldn’t have that here. The size difference isn’t huge, and Byrd is used to fighting at heavyweight, and he proved himself against quality opposition, beating Vitali Klitschko and giving him plenty of issues along the way.

I can’t pick Beterbiev, he never so much as campaigned at Cruiserweight let alone heavyweight.

 

It doesn’t matter who is overall better at HW, obviously its Tua and he’d put Beterbiev in ICU in a fight, but styles make fights and Beterbiev offers far greater difficulties and problems to Byrd.

Probably because you most likely didn’t actually watch the matches, the final one in 2012 was very close, Usyk barely won. Usyk was already a 210 lbs or so HW at the time, and in 2013 he beat tf out of Joe Joyce in WSB.

Spinks also had 0 wins at HW before he beat Holmes. Beterbiev has all the tools needed to beat Byrd. He chased down and physically bullied bigger, more mobile guys than Byrd in the amateurs and Byrd is NOT winning a fire-fight at close range, which he’ll be forced to engage since Beterbiev will probably be the first opponent that can out-move and trap him. This wouldn’t be first time we have seen a guy that can toy with bigger guys struggle with a smaller guy (ehem USYK ehem).

 

Beterbiev is average-sized for a LHW, Gvozdyk and Smith were bigger than him by a lot, didn’t really change anything.

 

So Tua is overall better at Heavyweight yet i'm to believe a guy who you call an average sized Light Heavyweight is going to have great success against Byrd who has 0 wins above Light Heavyweight got you.

I've seen the fights they're freely available on YT for all to see.

Spinks is 6'2 with a 76 inch reach.

Beterbiev is 5'11 with a 73 inch reach.

Spinks had better dimensions to be successful at Heavyweight.

Remind me again how many Heavyweights under 6 feet have been overly successful at Heavyweight in the last 40 years ? Also considering you call Beterbiev an average sized Light Heavyweight.

Beterbiev has the tools to beat Byrd in your mind not mine.

 

Tua didn’t know how to go to the body like Beterbiev. And it’s night and day with how they cut the ring off. Ask Usyk.

And Tua had some success.

 

Yes exactly, and if you doubt that just take a small trip back in time and watch Spinks vs Holmes.

3 inches won’t change much, and this is putting aside the fact that Beterbiev actually has more experience fighting HW-sized fighters than Spinks did at the time of the Holmes match.

Im not saying he’s gonna be “overly successful” at HW, its not the same when you are fighting an undersized HW. Crawford outright said he only took on Canelo because he was a small guy and that he wouldn’t rather fight with somebody like Benavidez who cuts down from like 200 lbs. Same deal here. Beterbiev wouldn’t replicate Byrd’s success nor could he beat Tua but he’d beat Byrd, because Byrd is a small HW who relies on speed and cagey-ness against big plodding HWs that threw one at a time. It won’t work against a pressure fighter with faster feet who is physically stronger than Byrd as well.

 

And again 6'2 76 inch reach Spinks who was big at the weight is not comparable to a 5'11 average sized Light Heavyweight as you put it.

Beterbiev stayed at Light Heavyweight until he was 40 years old he's never won a professional fight above Light Heavyweight so again just assumptions on your part.

And again Beterbiev is an averaged sized Light Heavyweight according to you and Byrd has never historically struggled against pressure fighters.

So again just because you believe something doesn't mean its a fact you're assuming something based on Beterbiev winning 0 fights above Light Heavyweight and according to you isn't a big Light Heavyweight.

 

Until Beterbiev wins a world title at heavyweight I’m going with Sir Christopher Byrd