Dmitry Pirog: From World Champion to State Politician
Boxing is full of ‘what if’ types of stories. There are plenty of examples where fights that fans were ready to see were pulled from underneath them. This is the story of former WBO middleweight champion “The Grandmaster” Dmitry Pirog (20-0, 15ko).
HOW GOOD WAS HE?
Hardcore pundits often talk about how truly gifted the Russian was in his prime. He was a pure boxer with good balance and the ring IQ to match. The Grandmaster was just that masterful in the ring, switching from offense to defense with ease.
Pirog possessed excellent defensive skills, using the shoulder roll to counter with a left or right uppercut at close range. Moreover, he had the hand speed to match, throwing combinations from all angles with the speed of a cheetah. These fighting traits may sound familiar, as they should. The Russian used to spend hours studying films of Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Ray Leonard.
THE FIGHT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
On July 31, 2010, the American boxing public got a first look at just how great he could have become. Making his debut on US soil, the Dmitry Pirog took on then undefeated Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs for the vacant WBO middleweight crown. Yes, this is the same Jacobs that goes by the name “Miracle Man”.
This author remembers the late great Emmanuel Steward saying how his fighter, Andy Lee, said that the Pirog fight was a bad match-up for Jacobs. That would prove to be an accurate statement as everyone in attendance did not see your typical European-style fighter, at all.
Jacobs was the more popular fighter and the harder puncher going into the fight. However, the Russian not only showed how skillful he was, but his chin was also solid. Jacobs found some success in landing the money right-hand punch. However, Pirog ate them like they were skittles and would return fire with awkward punching combinations that kept the Golden Child on his heels.
In round five, it happened; the Russian fighter was stalking, sliding side to side, and then landed a picture-perfect right-hand that sent Jacobs to the canvas. Pirog had sent a shockwave through the entire boxing landscape.
THE FIGHT THAT NEVER HAPPENED
After three successful title defenses, Pirog wanted to fight then WBA ‘regular’ champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin back in 2012. This was a fight the Russian champion wanted so badly, he decided to forgo the WBO ordered fight with middleweight Interim titlist Hassan N’dam N’Jikam. This resulted in the organization stripping him of the title. Moreover, the boxing Gods would cruelly hit fans in the gut as Pirog suffered a career-ending back injury while training to fight Golovkin.
The latter would go on to fight little known Gregorz Proksa for the WBA “regular” middleweight title. He captured the belt in five rounds which became the start of his rise to fame.
LIFE OUTSIDE OF BOXING
To this day, some boxing pundits believe that Pirog would have given GGG his first career defeat. It remains one of the most talked-about “what if” fights in boxing.
Fighters typically struggle with life after boxing. When their career gets cut short during their prime years, it is hard for some to adjust. However, the former champion seems to have done well for himself. Today he is involved in politics, representing United Russia in the lower house of the State Duma.
Everyone now and then, you will catch certain boxing old heads arguing about who would have won if Pirog and Golovkin would have fought. Was Golovkin’s power enough to defeat Pirog, or could the pure boxing skills of Pirog have derailed the GGG train? We will never know.
By: Garrisson Bland
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