The current elite at 175 vs. the man that broke so many greats during the Golden Age. Could either one bring something to the table to beat Qawi? Which one has the better chance?
I don't think either one has a chance. Beter's defense is too leaky, and Bivol doesn't have enough firepower to keep Qawi off of him. I don't think it's a given that Bivol beats prime Kovalev, or Hell even prime Michalczewski, let alone Qawi. Post-Spinks era, prime Roy is literally THE ONLY light heavyweight I'd take over a prime Qawi. Qawi beats all the rest.
Looking at Qawi fight is amazing. It shouldn't work but he was so damned good at what he does. How did a 5'5" guy consistently land lead right hands and check hooks against taller elite fighters? Unreal. The Beterbiev fight would be interesting but I think Qawi's hands would be too fast for him. I totally agree about Bivol. I don't think he could keep Qawi off him.
You asked who has the better chance: It's gotta be Beterbiev. He at least has the firepower to stun Qawi if Qawi gets reckless. Bivol's game just isn't gonna work against Qawi. You need to be able to hurt Qawi with counters, like Spinks did. Bivol doesn't have a fraction of Spinks' power, and he's a good 3 inches shorter than Spinks with much shorter arms. I'd be surprised if Bivol saw the distance against Qawi.
Indeed. If you described his abilities without seeming him fight one would believe he was a defense first kind of guy. Hard to hit cleanly but avoiding a brawl. Wait, the guy comes forward!? Would be interesting to see a fight between Qawi and Monzon if they were in the same weight class.
Beterbiev and Bivol both lose big time to Qawi. Beterbiev gets countered all night long, and Bivol just doesn't get enough work and has nothing to keep Qawi honest.
Qawi would mug Bivol. His defense and relentlessness would be too much for Bivol. Beterbiev is a different story. I actually think he has a good chance to fight fire with fire with Qawi. That fight can go either way in my opinion and it would have been exciting.
Not even Spinks dared to fight fire with fire with Qawi. He stood his ground long enough to hurt Qawi and get his respect, then he stayed behind his jab and boxed smart. Hell even Holy went through Hell fighting fire with fire with Qawi. What makes you think Beter could do it? Beter doesn't have the chin and defense to win a long-term firefight with Qawi.
Beterbiev doesn’t seem to be the kind of fighter that would get discouraged or fold easily. He seems strong enough to handle the heat, although I don’t think it’ll serve him well to fight up close against Qawi without receiving a lot of damage in return. Beterbiev is good enough to fight at range, although I can see him being pushed and forced to fight Qawi’s fight. I just think he’s shown the ability to be competitive against Qawi win or lose. Qawi beats Beterbiev more times if they fought 10 times though.
