A fight that was supposed to occur back in the summer of 2012 but unfortanitly for Pirog, a severe back injury pushed Pirog into early retirement. Who would you believe would have won this fight in 2012?
Dmitry Pirog
Height: 6'1"
Reach: 73 inches
Stance: Orthodox
Record: 20-0 (15KO)
Gennady Golovkin
Height: 5'10"
Reach: 70 inches
Stance: Orthodox
Record: 34-0 (31KO) *current
Weird but good fight. Pirog was so cagey and had great balance despite fighting in such an improvisational type of style. He could naturally shift and keep his balance, move his head, and throw big punches using his movement as momentum for big punches or feints. I really really liked Pirog. He also seemed to have a great chin on him...good body punches. I love GGG but back then? GGG is a killer but Pirog was good all around. I'm inclined to say GGG NOW because I've had a chance to see him so much but Pirog at the time seemed a bit more complete or mature as a fighter. Had that old school vibe to him. Reminds me of like a Crawford/Froch type hybrid with the way he seemed to carry his balance. Hard for me to explain but maybe I'm just weird with comparisons. Dare I say Pirog back then? I'm trying to erase the bias towards GGG since I've had much more exposure to him so oumaybe I'm reverse descriminating lol
Ray makes a good point on a smart oponent could time him during his improvsed shifts but I think it would take absolute nerves of steel and a massive punch because Pirog was able to generate a lot lf leverage while doing so. He had sneaky kind of power. Like he could crack as is but punches you dont think would have as much steam on them would seem to come from his step overs. His arm legnth also played into it because he'd vary his angles and length of his punches. He'd throw one punch the same way and the next time he threw it he'd extend it more. Not to mention that his step overs/shifting gave him a ton of range especially for someone trying to get away from him.
Would be a very good match up!
He moved his head nicely and had a wide repetiore of punches. He showed adaptability and a good chin.
One think I didn't like was his step overs coming towards his opponent. It takes a smart opponent to recognize this habit but if you can catch him as he steps one foot in front of the other you can cause damage. I also don't like a cross arm defense but he did have very good upper body movement, he fought more like a 1940s American fighter than a Russian boxer.
I think it would have been very good, he handled a young Jacobs rather easily
and Jacobs is a good fighter.
Ray