User blog comment:WhitzellBlood/Blackbeard's Possible Power Boost After the Two Year Skip/@comment-3186432-20101213230814

I do not like Blackbeard, but he is neither weak nor a coward. He is an opportunist who fights when he knows he has the upper hand. When he has fought he has shown himself to be incredibly strong. Remember that he left a scar on Shanks's face before Blackbeard ever consumed a devil fruit. Even Mihawk was never able to do that to Shanks. He beat Ace one on one. He would have beaten Luffy in Impel Down. After the time skip he is probably twice as strong as he ever was. All that being said, he would not have beaten Whitebeard in his prime. Whitebeard's haki would have nullified Blackbeard's devil fruit. It would have been the same situation with Rayleigh.