Beterbiev vs the following opponents from the 1930s

Maybe Sharkey gets him?

+1 for making a thread based on ring weights and not weight classes. It's correct to match modern LHWs against HWs of the 30s.

 

Well if we have him operating in the framework those fellas fought under .. they fought far more often & without PEDs.. so say he fights one a month straight after the other .. on a diet of beef & eggs & no HGH etc.. i think (if we're talking them at their best that is b/c they had the schedule of amateur fighters almost so underperformance & losses were more common) Schmelling pieces him up with counters & Sharkey jabs his head off.. beating a below par feather fist Bivol & then losing to him doesn't convince me he runs through that diverse range of 30s HW contenders & champions.. he might catch one or two but overall no. I can't say he beats them all.

 

For the guys who historically bounced back and forth between LHW and HW, wasn't that because they happened to weigh right around the cutoff, so to make HW, they ate more during camp, to make LHW, they ate less during camp? The light heavies of today aren't close to 175 when they hit the ring -- I don't see how they could make 175 and fight on the same day.

 

Bivol is "below par"? That's... wrong. He's highly skilled with excellent hand speed, foot speed, and athleticism. He doesn't move like a 6ft tall guy weighing something like 185-190 -- he moves like a little guy with how light he is on his feet, his quick his hands are. He's also got a great chin and recovery. If he had power, he'd be a monster, but sometimes nature is like "nah, that wouldn't be fair".

Ayway, stick Beterbiev as a HW in the 30s, provide him with time machine access to his modern supplements so as to not ruin his health, and he's in there with the best of them. He wins some, he loses some, but he's right in there. He's damn good and he's got those heavy hands. He's not so much one-punch power as he is "everything this guy throws hurts a lot" power, but that's real difficult to stand up to if he's regularly landing.