I like to see all fighters stay and fight at their natural weight. He is not a large LH and I really hope he stays at the weight and takes on all top fighters. Bivol would be a great opponent among others. The jump to cruiser is 25 lbs, it’s not 5-7lbs like other classes. It’s a huge jump and he’s not a young guy who is still growing. They have weight classes for a reason and jumping 25lbs, unless he’s starving at 175 and no longer able to make weight, would be foolish.
Beterbiev is good enough to win a title at cruiserweight despite the size he’d be giving up due to his superior ability compared to most cruiserweights, but I don’t think it’s necessary for him to make the jump considering 175 still has plenty of competition and guys he can make money with.
Yes But why would he The better fights and competition is at LHW today. CW is a shocking division these days, the majority of fighters around that weight jump who are any good eventually jump to HW. At this point they pretty much all have.
He's already a step slower than he was 3-4 years ago and I don't think the power would be quite as devastating as it is at 175. Don't think it's a good idea unless he really starts to struggle making the weight. Would rather see him get a couple big fights at 175 and see what kind of mark he can leave in his limited time.
If people think Rocky can beat up modern heavyweights then there's no reason to think Beterbiev couldn't make it at CW. He'd do fine at CW, not because CW is a weak division (it's not) but because Beterbiev is a beastly fighter with legit skills. I'd pick him over the likes of Makabu, Dorticos and Glowacki, but I think he gets beaten by Briedis. But then Briedis beats most HWs so that's not a slight on Beterbiev.
It depends. I think there are guys that are capable to make him problems. If in good shape, he might be in top 5 at HW but not top 3 I think. If in bad shape, UD loss to guys like Dorticos. Depends from opponent, from Okolie maybe. IF. Glowacki is very dangerous till last second. Fight with Huck proved this with a glance. He does beat very hard, if he will land properly, it is not weaker effect than from Briedis. Yeah, he is less versatile and inferiour to him in clinch also more predictable.
