Quote Originally Posted by Crash
Ichigo vs Byakuya isn't really a great comparison. A lot of that fight can be attributed to the fact that Byakuya's pride blinded him quite a bit and because of it he greatly underestimated Ichigo. Due to that Byakua really didn't come at Ichigo full tilt until they had both been extremely exhausted, and then just as it was obvious Ichigo was finished Hichigo comes out and deals some severe damage to Byakuya to even the fight back out.
Ichigo was much more powerful than Kuchiki Byakuya. Not only does Ichigo foolishly fight Byakuya's Bankai for a while with just his Shikai, but at the very start of the fight Ichigo gets into a kill position and then lets Byakuya go because he is showing off. Ichigo could have literally killed Byakuya in one swing but because he is the protagonist he has to instead get the shit beaten out of him first them come from behind to win.