Beterbiev is King of 175

I've seen no evidence that strongly suggests who has more power one way or another. But Kovalev's jab, command of range, and good positioning make him a far superior commodity IMO.

Could Beterbiev KO Kovalev? Sure. He could, if he can find ways to land his power he can KO anyone. But from what I've seen, Kovalev is the far superior technician. And Ward is an even better technician in terms of skills, athleticism, and abilities.

Maybe Beterbiev will grow into something where his game raises, but aside from his blistering power, I'm baffled that anyone would view him as a superior talent to the likes of Ward or Kovalev.

:smoke

 

:good Agree with everything you said, although I think Kovalev will have a far easier time with Beterbiev than Ward, because his command of range and power behind his jab is probably enough to keep Beterbiev at bay. Ward's probably wouldn't be, and physically Beterbiev is far more powerful than Ward, Ward is obviously far more skilled, but Beterbiev could and probably would manhandle him.

 

No doubt that Kovalev's power compared with Ward's leads to a vastly different clash of styles in each hypothetical bout vs Artur. Kovalev's power is surely enough to help him develop his game plan efficiently in a way Ward's power and timing would likely not allow. But I think Ward's bag of tricks combined with his speed and footwork can neutralize Beterbiev's power in a completely different way. Both are obviously more technically sound than Beterbiev, but I imagine Kovalev would take more of a "fight fire with fire approach" whereas Ward would go in attempting to be more like a "fireman".

But in each case, I sincerely believe that both Ward and Kovalev would have success in neutralizing Beterbiev's strengths and outclassing him - each in their own way, of course.

:smoke

 

It wouldn't shock me if Ward was able to go the distance and neutralize Beterbiev to a certain extent, he looked subpar against a guy like Alexander Johnson, so I'm pretty sure Ward can find some weaknesses to exploit and make Beterbiev end up looking terrible, but the opposite may happen just as easily.:!:
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Oh! Make no mistake here! I think Beterbiev has awesome power that affords him a chance to KO anyone - including both Ward and Kovalev.

Maybe I'm underrating Beterbiev. But despite his power, I think he's shown plenty of flaws that are there to be exploited. Kovalev has similar or superior power, but he also is equipped with some tremendous skills and ring smarts, starting with his jab and ending with his ability to stay within the confines of a specific game plan.

Something may well still happen to change my mind. But as of right now, I'd be pretty confident in favoring Ward over Beterbiev and extremely confident in favoring Kovalev. But I think both get the job done, most likely in dominant fashion.

 

I am the first to admit that IDKSAB. All the same, my worthless 2 cents still leads me to believe that Beterbiev isn't on the level of Ward or Kovalev.

And incidentally, I favor Kovalev against Ward.

:smoke

 

What actual part of Evgeniy Romanov's body are you on or in?

While I haven't seen the fight a 25-24 score is about as close as they come, I don't doubt at all that Kovalev was robbed.