Alexander Povetkin vs. Chris Byrd: Who Will Win?

[kayjay]

Gunstar is right. Byrd is a kind of measuring stick though, if Povetkin doesn't dominate him, we can forget Povetkin as a serious contender

[Steelhammer86]

But according to the IBO's website, Chris Byrd has defeated more heavyweights who were contenders at the time (13) than any active fighter in the division except Moorer (13) Wlad (15) and Holyfield (25). Of any heavyweight under age 39, he has the best resume except for Wlad. And two of his three losses were to Wlad...

Bryd, a two time heavyweight champion, is a formidable and difficult opponent. Some of his wins were close, but he deserved all of them.

If Povetkin defeats Byrd in a fairly close fight by decision or late TKO, it will show Alexander's a capable contender. A loss to Byrd will tell us Povetkin is no more than another fringe contender. A decisive, dominating win may indicate Povetkin is a top heavyweight.

[duffgun]

Chris Byrd could've easily had 5 losses in his last 6 fights, many people thought Oquendo won, many people thought Golota won, many people thought McCline won, many people thought Williamson won, Lost to Wlad.

So I see this fight to be another close fight like the other fights, my pick will be a draw or SD win for the winner.

I thought he beat Mccline in a close fight same with golota from what i remember but i thought he lost to oquendo. The only fighter who destroyed a prime byrd was ibeabuchi, vitali and wlad didn’t do as well against a prime byrd although they were fairly impressive vitali had won all but 2 rounds on my card before he quit and wlad won by easy UD, wlad KO this older version of byrd so i would hope for similar from povetkin or a shutout UD, but byrd is smart and could well take a SD.

[Tmb04]

I dont really see any KO or even TKO happening in this fight. It'll come down to a close UD for Byrd IMO. Povetkin is good and all but I still think it's way too early for him to win against top contenders.

[duffgun]

I dont really see any KO or even TKO happening in this fight. It'll come down to a close UD for Byrd IMO. Povetkin is good and all but I still think it's way too early for him to win against top contenders.

i also think at the moment byrd is to smart for him. and povetkin might not have the power to hurt byrd who has a very good chin for his size.

[HeartAttack]

Bryd's style isn't perfect for Povetkin, but the same is said the other way around. byrd is great against fighters who will try to stay outside and lunge in. He has had problems with true pressure fighters who throw combinations. I say this because Tua is a pressure fighter who throws one shot at a time and might mix in two. However, Ibeabuchi and Vitali were pressure fighters with power who threw combos and tool Byrd out of his game. An older Byrd was demolished by a powerful Wlad while trying to fight Wlad's fight, and a young agressive Wlad handled Byrd with his well, agression. Povetkin is an agressive fighter who throws creative combos and owrks the body with diligence and authority. Povetkin can handle slick boxers with no punch, we've seen that with Donald and Ahunanya. Thing is we don't know if Povetkin can sustain a productive pace for twelve rounds against such a defensively skilled fighter. I still lean towards Povetkin in this one due to Byrd's age, but his cunning will stretch Povetkin's ring generalship at this moment and akes this a very intriguing affair

[Steelhammer86]

I still lean towards Povetkin in this one due to Byrd's age, but his cunning will stretch Povetkin's ring generalship at this moment and makes this a very intriguing affair

Excellent post. It is indeed an intriguing matchup.

[Lance Uppercut]

Byrd's style is going to be hell for Povetkin. I like the byrd man alot in this one.

[DiegoFuego]

I thought he beat Mccline in a close fight same with golota from what i remember but i thought he lost to oquendo. The only fighter who destroyed a prime byrd was ibeabuchi, vitali and wlad didn’t do as well against a prime byrd although they were fairly impressive vitali had won all but 2 rounds on my card before he quit and wlad won by easy UD, wlad KO this older version of byrd so i would hope for similar from povetkin or a shutout UD, but byrd is smart and could well take a SD.

You are entirely correct. If you actually score those fights instead of just recalling certain moments, you'd probably have Byrd winning 7-8 rounds against McCline but suffering the knockdown so 114-113 or 115-112, you'd have Byrd beating Golota quite clearly (again, actually SCORE IT) 116-112 or even more in Byrd's favor, and you'd have him losing a close but clear decision to Oquendo 115-113. While the TOS fight was unbearable, if you actually score it, I had Byrd winning it by a large margin like 9 rounds to 3 (and TOS has always been my boy). Byrd is a tough dude who has beaten bigger (but not necessarily good) big men and arguably lost to one. I don't know or care who Povetkin is, but if he wins this fight, he is a major player right away and I will pay attention when I hear his name. I am kind of expecting a robbery in Povetkin's favor and Byrd retiring. If that happens, I'll be even more disgusted with this division than I already am. As long as it's a legit win for Povetkin, I'll acknowledge it. Byrd has nothing left to offer though so him winning doesn't do anybody any good.

[DiegoFuego]

And before anyone asks, I'm not signing my name to anything since I admitted to not knowing anything about Povetkin, but if you had a gun to my head, I'd say Byrd wins a decision and gets robbed on the cards. That wasn't an option in the poll.

It'd be like saying you picked Peter to decision Toney in their first fight and claiming you were right lol.