Sabo is the sworn brother of Monkey D. Luffy and the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army in One Piece. After being rescued from death by Monkey D. Dragon, Sabo decided to join him on his endeavor to crush the corrupt Celestial Dragons who rule the world and make it a better place for everyone.
From a boisterous brat of Grey Terminal to the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, Sabo's growth has been exceptional throughout the series and he's definitely one of the strongest people out there right now. Here are five characters that Sabo can beat and five that he can't.
10 Can Beat: Roronoa Zoro
Also known as the Pirate Hunter, Zoro is Luffy's strongest subordinate and the man who aspires to be the greatest swordsman in the world. With his Santoryu, Zoro can take on some of the strongest of enemies without fail.
Unfortunately for him, Sabo isn't among them. As the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, Sabo's strength can only be matched by a few characters in the series. Zoro, while strong, isn't at that level yet and would need at least until the end of Wano to be close to, or as strong as Sabo.
9 Can't Beat: Akainu
The current Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Akainu is an exceptionally strong Marine. His Devil Fruit, known as Magu Magu no Mi, when combined with his great Haki, makes him unstoppable. Akainu was even able to fight against Whitebeard to some extent, which shows how tenacious of a fighter he really is.
While Sabo does have plenty of reasons to fight Akainu, there is no way that he can defeat him right now. His Devil Fruit and likely his haki too is inferior to that of Akainu. To pull off the incredible feat of defeating Akainu, Sabo would need to be at a higher level.
8 Can Beat: Jesus Burgess
Jesus Burgess, also known as The Champion, is the right-hand man of Blackbeard and the captain of the First Ship of the Blackbeard Pirates. At Dressrosa, he clashed against Sabo, and as expected, he was easily defeated.
Even though he's the right-hand of a Yonko, Burgess doesn't possess a Devil Fruit yet, which is why he appears to be so weak. To beat him, Sabo didn't even need to expend half of his power. To pose a serious threat to Sabo, Burgess would most certainly need the powers of Devil Fruit, and we may actually see him eat one soon.
7 Can't Beat: Monkey D. Luffy
The protagonist of One Piece and the captain of the Strawhat Pirates, Luffy is easily one of the strongest characters in the series. After the two-year time-skip, Luffy has shown adequate skill to be able to fight on par against some of the Yonko Commanders. At Whole Cake Island, he evolved while fighting against Katakuri to the point where to drew level to him. Luffy's progress doesn't stop there, however.
At Wano, Luffy has honed his Haki even further and with the newly acquired powers, he's planning to defeat Kaido. For Sabo, beating the current Luffy is going to be an arduous task even though he quite strong himself. If Luffy could beat Katakuri, there's no reason to believe that he can't beat Sabo as well.
6 Can Beat: Bastille
Renowned throughout the Navy as the Shark Cutter, Bastille is one of the strongest Vice-Admirals in their ranks. Being a Vice-Admiral, Bastille certainly possesses the power to wield Haki, and with his sharp blade, he can even cut through buildings.
Despite that, when the two clashed at Dressrosa, Sabo crushed his skull without even exerting himself, signifying the massive difference in the skill of the two. Sabo is easily capable of matching an Admiral in battle, and there's no way a mere Vice-Admiral such as Bastille can defeat him in a fight.
5 Can't Beat: Blackbeard
One of the Four Emperors of the sea and the newest addition to their ranks, Blackbeard is a fearsome pirate that even the Navy fears. He possesses two Devil Fruit abilities, called Yami no Mi (Darkness-Darkness Fruit) and Gura Gura no Mi (Quake-Quake Fruit), which make him unbelievably powerful.
At Marineford, he was able to clash against Sengoku to some extent. What's more, Blackbeard has only grown during the two-year time-skip. As such, there is no way for Sabo to match Blackbeard in a fight. If the two do fight, the outcome won't be much different from when Blackbeard fought Ace.
4 Can Beat: Rob Lucci
One of the fiercest subordinates of the World Government, Rob Lucci was once a member of the CP9 and was later promoted to CP0. After his fight against Luffy, he seems to have gotten considerably stronger. Lucci possesses the powers of the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard, but his primary strength lies in his ability to use the Rokushiki.
Along with that, Lucci has also managed to acquire Haki over the time-skip, so he's much more formidable than he once was. Even so, Sabo is someone who is close to Luffy's level right now, which makes him stronger than the CP0 killer. Lucci may be strong, but he's not capable of beating either Luffy or Sabo as they are now.
3 Can't Beat: Kaido
Kaido is famed as the strongest creature in the entire world of One Piece, be it on land, on sea, or in air. Being one of the Yonko, Kaido has tremendous ability as a fighter and he's capable of combatting the likes of Shanks and Big Mom on equal footing.
He was able to take out Luffy, a man worth 1.5 Billion berries, in a single swing of his Kanabo. As such, nothing Sabo can do can even graze Kaido. Despite Sabo being a Logia and a high-level Haki user, it is highly likely that he'll face the same fate as his brother, and lose in just one attack from Kaido.
2 Can Beat: Fujitora
Issho, code name 'Fujitora', was bestowed the position of an Admiral over the time-skip in One Piece, and he replaced one of Akainu or Aokiji. Described as a monster by Doflamingo, Fujitora possesses a Paramecia type Devil Fruit called Zushi Zushi no Mi which allows him to control gravity at will.
Although beating him will be extremely difficult for Sabo, there's no reason why he can't pull it off. Sabo already fought Fujitora once at Dressrosa, and possibly again at the Reverie. If he goes all out, there's a decent possibility for him to win.
1 Can't Beat: Big Mom
Big Mom is one of the Yonko in One Piece, and a natural-born monster. At age 5, she was strong enough to wipe out an entire village of Giants at Elbaf. If that wasn't enough, Big Mom only went on to become stronger, and she has terrorized the entire One Piece world since.
There are few characters who can face up to a Yonko in the series, and undoubtedly, Sabo isn't one of them yet. There's a long road ahead of Sabo if he wants to reach Big Mom's level, but right now, his fate is unknown. If Sabo is actually alive, maybe he'll get to be as strong as Big Mom someday. For now, he's far inferior.