How does early DD beat early BP?
Because he did it in the comics. In this thread,
@Jello Biafra posted their early encounter and DD straight up KOed BP.
To be fair, that was well before the Black Panther we know today was fully fleshed out and established AND given the Vibranium suit upgrades, Anti-Metal Claws and the King of the Dead upgrade that he currently has now. Daredevil IS and ALWAYS HAS been severly underrated as a combatant, he's probably top 5 in Marvel in a straight up 1v1. He's beaten Black Costume Spider-Man, Black Panther, Bullseye, took on the entire group of the Avengers and almost won, etc.
I still put DD's overall combat effectiveness under Cap, Wolverine and Black Panther and Deadpool but he may round out at the bottom of that top 5.