Dmitry Pirog
Dmitry Yurievich Pirog (/piˈrɔːɡ/; pee-ROG; Russian: Дмитрий Юрьевич Пирог; born 27 June 1980) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2012. In boxing he held the WBO middleweight title from 2010 to 2012, and although his career was cut short due to a debilitating back injury, he is one of the few professional boxers to win a world title and retire undefeated. He is also credited as the only boxer to stop Danny Jacobs, dealing Jacobs his first professional defeat and effectively ending his 20–0 winning streak. Being the only Russian boxer ever to hold the WBO Middleweight Championship, he never made to quarterfinals of the Russian national amateur boxing championships.
| Dmitry Pirog Дмитрий Пирог | |
|---|---|
 Pirog in 2018 | |
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Dmitry Yurievich Pirog |
| Nickname(s) | The Grandmaster |
| Weight(s) | Middleweight |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Reach | 178 cm (70 in) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Born | 27 June 1980 Temryuk, Temryuksky District, Krasnodar Krai, Soviet Union (now Russia) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 20 |
| Wins | 20 |
| Wins by KO | 15 |
| Losses | 0 |
Early life and amateur career
At the age of eight, Pirog was a keen chess player and won some tournaments in the town of Temryuk, Russia.[1] However, he soon felt as though he was not getting enough activity from chess, and decided to seek a sport instead. At his local gym, he discovered boxing and began fighting as an amateur, having relocated to the city of Krasnodar. At the early stages of his amateur career he didn't have a trainer, instead he studied carefully VHS tapes of Sugar Ray Leonard and later Floyd Mayweather Jr., which affected his style heavily. In his amateur career, Pirog claims to have won 200 fights and lost 30,[1] all of which prepared him for the professional ranks.[2]
Professional career
Early career
Pirog made his professional debut on 29 July 2005, scoring a sixth-round technical knockout over fellow debutant Sasun Oganyan. On his fourth fight, he defeated Sergey Tatevosyan to become the Russian national middleweight champion. Tatevosyan was an experienced veteran and gave Pirog a tough fight, but Pirog's skills ultimately prevailed and he won a unanimous decision 98–91, 98–93, and 97–95.[3] From late 2007 to early 2010, Pirog won many regional and international middleweight titles from both the WBC and WBO.[1]
WBO middleweight champion
Pirog's first world title shot arrived on 31 July 2010, against fellow undefeated prospect Daniel Jacobs, with the vacant WBO middleweight title on the line. The belt had last belonged to Sergio Martínez, who was stripped due to not complying with the WBO's rules. Pirog came in as a relatively unknown contender to American audiences, while Jacobs had the overwhelming backing of manager Al Haymon and promoters Golden Boy,[4] as well as a very high knockout percentage. Jacobs started the fight well and was ahead by 39–37 on all scorecards by round four. However, Pirog managed to hurt Jacobs with a right hand. In the fifth round of the fight, Pirog scored a major upset when he knocked Jacobs down with a hard right hand. Jacobs was unable to get back up and the referee waved off the fight, giving Pirog a knockout win and making him the new WBO middleweight champion. After the fight, Pirog said "After the second round, I knew I was good. I hurt him in the second and I knew I could come back and do it again."[5]
Pirog's exposure to worldwide audiences grew overnight, as the fight took place on HBO pay-per-view as part of the undercard to Juan Manuel Márquez vs. Juan Díaz II. However, in his subsequent two years as champion, Pirog only managed to make three defences,[6][7] the last of which took place on 1 May 2012. In this fight, Pirog scored a wide unanimous decision, with scores of 120–108, 119–109, and 117–111, against Nobuhiro Ishida.[8]
Injury and retirement
On 25 August 2012, Pirog was stripped of his title by the WBO after choosing to fight WBA and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin instead of WBO interim champion Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam.[9] During training for the Golovkin fight, Pirog suffered a serious back injury—a ruptured disc—which forced cancellation of the fight.[10] Several comeback attempts by Pirog to face-off Golovkin on HBO PPV main event were thwarted by ongoing back problems, effectively forcing his premature retirement.[11][12]
Personal life
Pirog is a diploma graduate of Kuban State University and holds a managerial boxing license. Some of the boxers he has managed include Fedor Papazov and Vasily Lepikhin. In 2010, Pirog was the vice president of the Professional Boxing Federation in the Southern Federal District of Russia.[1][13] In March 2017, Pirog replaced Alexander Metkin in the State Duma, the Russian lower house, representing governing party United Russia.[14][13]
Professional boxing record
| 20 fights | 20 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 15 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Win | 20–0 |  |
UD | 12 | 1 May 2012 |  |
Retained WBO middleweight title |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 |  |
RTD | 10 (12), 3:00 | 25 Sep 2011 | |
Retained WBO middleweight title |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 |  |
UD | 12 | 26 Mar 2011 | |
Retained WBO middleweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 |  |
KO | 5 (12), 0:57 | 31 Jul 2010 | |
Won vacant WBO middleweight title |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 |  |
TKO | 6 (10), 2:42 | 27 Apr 2010 | |
Won WBC Baltic middleweight title |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | |
TKO | 5 (12), 1:07 | 6 Feb 2010 | |
Retained WBO Asia Pacific middleweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 |  |
UD | 12 | 26 Jun 2009 |  |
Won vacant WBC International middleweight title |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 |  |
RTD | 5 (12), 3:00 | 6 Dec 2008 | |
Retained WBC–ABCO and WBO Asia Pacific middleweight titles |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 |  |
UD | 10 | 19 Jul 2008 | |
|
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | |
KO | 4 (12), 1:27 | 12 Apr 2008 | |
Retained WBC–ABCO middleweight title; Won vacant WBO Asia Pacific middleweight title |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | |
RTD | 2 (12), 3:00 | 25 Oct 2007 | |
Won vacant WBC–ABCO middleweight title |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 |  |
TKO | 9 (10) | 2 Jun 2007 | |
Won vacant WBC–CISBB middleweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | |
TKO | 4 (10) | 24 Mar 2007 | |
|
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | |
TKO | 1 (6), 2:54 | 10 Dec 2006 | |
|
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | |
RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 25 Oct 2006 | |
Retained Russia middleweight title |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | |
TKO | 2 (10) | 17 Jul 2006 | |
|
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | |
UD | 10 | 16 Apr 2006 | |
Won vacant Russia middleweight title |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | |
TKO | 3 (6) | 23 Dec 2005 | |
|
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | |
RTD | 3 (6), 3:00 | 4 Nov 2005 | |
|
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | |
TKO | 6 (6) | 29 Jul 2005 | |
See also
- List of undefeated boxing world champions
- List of middleweight boxing champions
- List of WBO world champions
References
- Sukachev, Alexey (21 June 2010). "Dmitry Pirog Talks American Debut, Daniel Jacobs, More". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Montoya, Gabriel (July 2010). "Dmitry Pirog Looks to Checkmate Danny Jacobs". Max Boxing. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- http://www.boxingscene.com/dmitry-pirog-talks-american-debut-daniel-jacobs-more--28676
- "Jacobs and Pirog conference call transcript". Boxing News 24. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Rafael, Dan (1 August 2010). "Dmitry Pirog puts away Daniel Jacobs". ESPN. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Christ, Scott (26 March 2011). "Dmitry Pirog Wins, But Doesn't Wow Against Javier Maciel". SB Nation. Vox Media. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Baklanov, Nikolai (26 September 2011). "Photos: Dmitry Pirog Makes a Statement in Krasnodar". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- "Pirog outpoints Ishida to retain WBO belt" Archived 2016-01-31 at the Wayback Machine. fightnews.com. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Stangrit, Gregory (3 September 2012). "Dmitry Pirog Not Surprised WBO Took Away His Title". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Rafael, Dan (5 July 2012). "Dmitry Pirog out with back injury". ESPN. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Stangrit, Gregory (23 June 2013). "Dmitry Pirog is Still Hoping To Return To The Ring". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- Pushkin, Vadim (11 January 2016). "Dmitry Pirog Comeback Rumors Are False, Says Promoter". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- https://en.crimerussia.com/gover/private-ambulances-real-estate-in-spain-and-estranged-spouses-main-trends-of-officials-income-declar/
- http://www.boxingscene.com/dmitry-pirog-former-wbo-champion-enters-russian-state-duma--114273
External links
| Sporting positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional boxing titles | ||||
| Vacant Title last held by Sergey Khomitsky |
Russia middleweight champion 16 April 2006 – October 2007 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Gennady Martirosyan | ||
| WBC–CISBB middleweight champion 2 June 2007 – October 2007 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Sandor Micsko | |||
| New title | WBC–ABCO middleweight champion 16 April 2006 – June 26, 2009 Won International title |
Vacant Title next held by Pradeep Singh | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Jamie Pittman |
WBO Asia Pacific middleweight champion 16 April 2006 – 31 July 2010 Won world title |
Vacant Title next held by Les Sherrington | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Domenico Spada |
WBC International middleweight champion 26 June 2009 – June 2010 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by David Lemieux | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Sergei Melis |
WBC Baltic middleweight champion 27 April 2010 – July 2010 Vacated |
Vacant Title next held by Daniel Urbanski | ||
| World boxing titles | ||||
| Vacant Title last held by Sergio Martínezstripped |
WBO middleweight champion 31 July 2010 – 25 August 2012 Stripped |
Succeeded by Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam promoted from interim status | ||