What the hell is up with dimitry pirog?!?

[Dirk Diggler UK]

True, Jacobs was not even top 10, but he was everybody's prospect of the year. And people were impressed with Pirog's style. But the main reason is that at the time there was no proven talent at MW besides Sergio, and he looked like the most interesting challenger. For sure more than Dzin, Macklin or Barker.

Exactly. It was annoying to hear Lou Di Bella constantly say that no one knew who Pirog was and then he'd cart out Darren Barker as Sergio's next opponent.

[HeroBando]

Exactly. It was annoying to hear Lou Di Bella constantly say that no one knew who Pirog was and then he'd cart out Darren Barker as Sergio's next opponent.

It's a shame that Sergio had such a small window of prime, and wasted it on that 3 fight stretch. Even Chavez went from being a joke to legit in a hurry, all it took was a date with Andy Lee and that 12th round. TBF there really weren't many better options at the time, so maybe he should have thrown us a bone with Pirog

[Jack Napier]

layoffs have wrecked his career, don't think he'll be a factor again

[BafanaBafana]

It's a shame that Sergio had such a small window of prime, and wasted it on that 3 fight stretch. Even Chavez went from being a joke to legit in a hurry, all it took was a date with Andy Lee and that 12th round. TBF there really weren't many better options at the time, so maybe he should have thrown us a bone with Pirog

Fighting Pirog (who wasn't popular w/HBO anyway) for the WBO trinket would have removed Sergio as a mandatory for Chavez Jr. WBC belt, which was the only leverage Sergio and his team had over Chavez. In the end, Sergio persevered and was rewarded with a 500K ppv. Dzinziruk was pushed on Sergio by HBO, Sergio actually wanted to fight Zbik so he could hold on to his title but HBO refused the fight so Chavez could fight him instead. For the October 2011 date Sergio initially wanted to fight Quillin but his GBP turned down the offer so they picked Darren Barker as a opponent on short notice. Macklin was coming off a 'would be win' over the then #2 ranked middleweight (Sturm) and was a stablemate of Martinez, so it was an easy fight to make. By that time Sergio should have fought Chavez Jr but the WBC kept extending Chavez Jr's voluntary defenses.


As far as how a healthy Pirog would have done against Sergio or GGG, I can't say for sure because we didn't really get to see much of him against top opposition, but I definitely believe his power was overrated based on his post Jacobs fights.

Had a healthy Pirog fought GGG on August 2012 date, I figure GGG would have cut the ring on him quick (Pirog didn't have quick feet) and hammered him with body and head combinations. I figure Pirog would land some counters and jabs in between Golovkin's guard but probably not hard enough to stun him or make him think twice about coming in. Pirog also had good head movement and an okay defense but that wouldn't help him much if he is unable to keep GGG at a safe distance. I would have expected this fight to end around the 5th or 8th round, possibly from a body shot and with Pirog taking a knee at some point.

Against 2011-12 Sergio Martinez, I figure Pirog would have probably done better than against GGG but Sergio's output, lateral movement, jab, and counter left would have given him problems--his greater experience against a greater level of opposition would have also provided an edge. Pirog, much like Sergio had a very unusual style (even more so than SM), so this fight would have been very awkward to watch. I don't know how good a chin Pirog might of had, but I'm pretty confident Sergio's overhand left would have gotten his attention (it certainly did 178 pd Pavlik and 185 pd Chavez). Pirog is a mid-range fighter who sets up his punches with the jab so I figure Sergio's ability to use smart lateral movement would allow him to pivot away from Pirog's right and cause him to reset. If Pirog has good stamina the fight will end with a 116-112 type decision with Pirog's face pretty marked and Sergio's face relatively clean. If Pirog tires late in the fight from Sergio's high intensity then he could get stopped in the championship rounds. I wouldn't expect Pirog to be stopped within the first 8 rounds (like Williams and Dzinziruk), unless his secretly glassed chinned, because from what I've seen in his fights he's doesn't start fast or aggressively so he would probably box with Sergio in the first few rounds.

[NearHypnos]

I remember the days that he was being made out to be some god. From what I recall he was supposed to fight GGG...before the GGG hype (some of the Pirog guys are converted GGG fans). A lOT of people had Pirog blitzing through everyone which included that GGG fight lol. Good times. Feel bad for Pirog because i feel he DID have a nic shot vs GGG (damn i hvent even seen him fight in over a year...as in youtube...). I recall him having a nice hook to the body though and he seemed like he had above average pop.

[HeroBando]

Fighting Pirog (who wasn't popular w/HBO anyway) for the WBO trinket would have removed Sergio as a mandatory for Chavez Jr. WBC belt, which was the only leverage Sergio and his team had over Chavez. In the end, Sergio persevered and was rewarded with a 500K ppv. Dzinziruk was pushed on Sergio by HBO, Sergio actually wanted to fight Zbik so he could hold on to his title but HBO refused the fight so Chavez could fight him instead. For the October 2011 date Sergio initially wanted to fight Quillin but his GBP turned down the offer so they picked Darren Barker as a opponent on short notice. Macklin was coming off a 'would be win' over the then #2 ranked middleweight (Sturm) and was a stablemate of Martinez, so it was an easy fight to make. By that time Sergio should have fought Chavez Jr but the WBC kept extending Chavez Jr's voluntary defenses.


As far as how a healthy Pirog would have done against Sergio or GGG, I can't say for sure because we didn't really get to see much of him against top opposition, but I definitely believe his power was overrated based on his post Jacobs fights.

Had a healthy Pirog fought GGG on August 2012 date, I figure GGG would have cut the ring on him quick (Pirog didn't have quick feet) and hammered him with body and head combinations. I figure Pirog would land some counters and jabs in between Golovkin's guard but probably not hard enough to stun him or make him think twice about coming in. Pirog also had good head movement and an okay defense but that wouldn't help him much if he is unable to keep GGG at a safe distance. I would have expected this fight to end around the 5th or 8th round, possibly from a body shot and with Pirog taking a knee at some point.

Against 2011-12 Sergio Martinez, I figure Pirog would have probably done better than against GGG but Sergio's output, lateral movement, jab, and counter left would have given him problems--his greater experience against a greater level of opposition would have also provided an edge. Pirog, much like Sergio had a very unusual style (even more so than SM), so this fight would have been very awkward to watch. I don't know how good a chin Pirog might of had, but I'm pretty confident Sergio's overhand left would have gotten his attention (it certainly did 178 pd Pavlik and 185 pd Chavez). Pirog is a mid-range fighter who sets up his punches with the jab so I figure Sergio's ability to use smart lateral movement would allow him to pivot away from Pirog's right and cause him to reset. If Pirog has good stamina the fight will end with a 116-112 type decision with Pirog's face pretty marked and Sergio's face relatively clean. If Pirog tires late in the fight from Sergio's high intensity then he could get stopped in the championship rounds. I wouldn't expect Pirog to be stopped within the first 8 rounds (like Williams and Dzinziruk), unless his secretly glassed chinned, because from what I've seen in his fights he's doesn't start fast or aggressively so he would probably box with Sergio in the first few rounds.

I'm not gonna get worked up over a never was. From what I can tell I agree with much of this, still I would have liked to see it over Barker, Macklin or Dzin. Even more than Chavez, who is super predictable, but of course Chavez makes much sense otherwise

[Dirk Diggler UK]

Fighting Pirog (who wasn't popular w/HBO anyway) for the WBO trinket would have removed Sergio as a mandatory for Chavez Jr. WBC belt, which was the only leverage Sergio and his team had over Chavez. In the end, Sergio persevered and was rewarded with a 500K ppv. .

That's an original excuse although I don't know if it's true because it was never used by Lou Di Bella. Either way it's a pretty flimsy one.

I believe Lucas Mattysse may have had the same situation with Peterson and that's why they fought at a catchweight. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[El Angel]

True, Jacobs was not even top 10, but he was everybody's prospect of the year. And people were impressed with Pirog's style. But the main reason is that at the time there was no proven talent at MW besides Sergio, and he looked like the most interesting challenger. For sure more than Dzin, Macklin or Barker.

He wasn't give much of choice on Dzinziruk, HBO forced him on Martinez. I don't think he's more of a legit contender than Macklin was at the time, especially coming off the robbery vs Sturm. I'll give you Pirog was a better opponent than Barker though.

[El Angel]

That's an original excuse although I don't know if it's true because it was never used by Lou Di Bella. Either way it's a pretty flimsy one.

I believe Lucas Mattysse may have had the same situation with Peterson and that's why they fought at a catchweight. Correct me if I'm wrong.

IBF didn't want unification with an interim title and Lucas didn't want to give up his interim WBC title, to ensure his shot at Garcia next.

Martinez was WBC champion emeritus I think, I'm not sure how that plays out, as to my knowledge, you can't fight for the emeritus title, it's just given to fighters as the WBC sees fits, as bullshit as that is.

[BafanaBafana]

IBF didn't want unification with an interim title and Lucas didn't want to give up his interim WBC title, to ensure his shot at Garcia next.

Martinez was WBC champion emeritus I think, I'm not sure how that plays out, as to my knowledge, you can't fight for the emeritus title, it's just given to fighters as the WBC sees fits, as bullshit as that is.

You can't be a titleholder and be a mandatory to another titleholder from a different sanctioning body.

In other news it's funny how the WBC supposedly doesn't allow unifications but still allows some fighters to hold more than one sanctioning belt.
Ex: Garcia (WBA/WBC) and Canelo(WBA/WBC), but not Andre Ward(WBA)/(WBC stripped).