The reason I (and a lot of other people assumed that he'd win), was because everyone expected the Navy to get at least one W against the Warlords. Mihawk and Weevil were confronted by nameless fodder. Buggy was confronted by Vice Admiral Stainless, but he's a background character and catching Buggy doesn't mean much. He's a gag character that fails upwards. Koby was both a named Marine of some narrative importance and Hancock being captured would give Luffy a reason to go after the government with Kaido defeated. Also, Boa's crew is really weak. Her sisters lost in a 2v1 to Pre-Skip Luffy. That doesn't mean that Hancock was weak, but it tempered expectations. Most people expected her to be noticeably weaker than Doflamingo (and to be honest, outside of her hax... I don't think she's proven to be stronger than him). Usually, the 2nd in command of a crew is reasonably strong relative to their Captain. But if Oda had made them stronger, it wouldn't have allowed him to have that whole slave tattoo plot point.
To be honest, I'm glad that didn't happen though. Hancock being returned to the Celestial Dragons would be disgusting and I'd rather she get a chance to show what she's capable. Koby hasn't proven himself to the point where him beating her off screen would be acceptable. I don't know what Oda is planning to do with the character. There's a lot of hype around him and his portrayal is decent, but he hasn't fought anyone. It's been 4+ years since he returned to the story.
My best guess is that he's around the level of Brook, Franky and Robin. I think a handful of people wank him and are setting themselves up for disappointment. He's not Zoro, Sanji or even Jinbei level. At the same time, I think people that put him on the level of Usopp, Nami or even Chopper are underselling him. He's mastered Rokushiki, has CoA and his CoO was stated to be on an advanced level. He has a 500 million Cross Guild bounty, is considered a Naval Hero, helped make it possible for Blackbeard to oust one of Rocks' crewmates and Garp considers him the future of the Marines. Being on the level of the Mid Trio would be a good place for him to be without being too unrealistic.
Sorry for the long post.
To be honest, I'm glad that didn't happen though. Hancock being returned to the Celestial Dragons would be disgusting and I'd rather she get a chance to show what she's capable. Koby hasn't proven himself to the point where him beating her off screen would be acceptable. I don't know what Oda is planning to do with the character. There's a lot of hype around him and his portrayal is decent, but he hasn't fought anyone. It's been 4+ years since he returned to the story.
My best guess is that he's around the level of Brook, Franky and Robin. I think a handful of people wank him and are setting themselves up for disappointment. He's not Zoro, Sanji or even Jinbei level. At the same time, I think people that put him on the level of Usopp, Nami or even Chopper are underselling him. He's mastered Rokushiki, has CoA and his CoO was stated to be on an advanced level. He has a 500 million Cross Guild bounty, is considered a Naval Hero, helped make it possible for Blackbeard to oust one of Rocks' crewmates and Garp considers him the future of the Marines. Being on the level of the Mid Trio would be a good place for him to be without being too unrealistic.
Sorry for the long post.
