Beterbiev vs. Patterson

Barely hurt ? He got up and was on bambi legs walking towards the corner.

Beterbiev has no proven track record of taking on notable hitters at Heavyweight.

Johansson is considered one of the harder punchers at Heavyweight his right hand power would rank amongst top 10 for best right hands in Heavyweight division.

Liston is considered a top 10 Heavyweight puncher who has 84 inch reach who would also poleaxe Beterbiev.

Beterbiev has never faced anyone remotely like Patterson with his dangerous combination of blinding speed and KO power.

Patterson has dealt with heavy handed aggressive come forward fighters like Chuvalo, Bonavena, who both had pretty high KO percentages.

For reference Bonavena had 75 percent KO ratio.

Chuvalo had 87 percent KO ratio.

 

He was more off-balance than hurt. He certainly wasn't on bambi legs anyhow. He got up too fast and got his glove stuck in the ropes, both of which hindered his balance while getting up. But he did get up and he got up almost immediately, recovered instantly, and got straight back into the fight. Chuvalo and Bonavena were both far more limited fighters than Beterbiev, they were both essentially gate-keepers. Rademacher wasn't a very heavy puncher yet even he could drop Patterson in his debut, even with an amateur style.
Jacques Royer Crecy dropped Patterson; Rademacher dropped Patterson; Ingemar Johanneson battered Patterson and dropped him 9 times in their trilogy; Liston battered Patterson twice and bounced him off the canvas a little over half a dozen times over the space of barely 5 minutes; Quarry dropped Patterson 4 times; and even Bonavena dropped Patterson. His chin was very clearly not that sturdy and he had defensive lapses fairly frequently. There's a reason why Cus D'Amato managed him so carefully.
Beterbiev is a nightmare for him. He's fleet-footed, well-schooled, hits like a mule, is a great counterpuncher, and is defensively tight.

 

Floyd speed and skills are beyond Beterbiev but I agree with others here I have a hard time given the modern lt heavies are practically as large as the heavies of the 50's. It's a shoot out until it ends and until I see Beterbiev dropped and stopped I gotta go with him.

 

I don't know how you can call that a balance issue he got caught clean went down hard and got up on shaky legs that's not a balance issue.

As for Beterbiev being a stylistic nightmare for Patterson I don't agree come forward heavy handed aggressive fighters have not troubled Patterson and I already gave you 2 examples.

 

Beterbiev is in completely different ballpark to Bonavena and Chuvalo though. He's more than just a come forward heavy handed aggressive fighter, he's far more versatile than just that compared to Bonavena or Chuvalo who only knew how to fight coming forward. Beterbiev can box off the back-foot, he can counterpunch, he cuts the ring off very tactfully, he feints well, applies constant foot pressure, he has a very solid engine, a good sense of timing and rhythm, and minds his defence. Beterbiev would cut off and control the distance Patterson needs to box and move.