Dmitry Yurievich Pirog (; born 27 June 1980) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. In boxing he competed from 2005 to 2012, and held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title from 2010 to 2012. Although his career was cut short due to a debilitating back injury, he is one of the few professional boxers to win a world championship and retire undefeated.

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.Sukachev, Alexey (21 June 2010). "Dmitry Pirog Talks American Debut, Daniel Jacobs, More". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 January 2016. 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, all of which prepared him for the professional ranks.Montoya, Gabriel (July 2010). "Dmitry Pirog Looks to Checkmate Danny Jacobs". Max Boxing. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

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. From late 2007 to early 2010, Pirog won many regional and international middleweight titles from both the WBC and WBO.

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,"Jacobs and Pirog conference call transcript". Boxing News 24. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2016. 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."Rafael, Dan (1 August 2010). "Dmitry Pirog puts away Daniel Jacobs". ESPN. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

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,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. 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."Pirog outpoints Ishida to retain WBO belt" . fightnews.com. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

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.Stangrit, Gregory (3 September 2012). "Dmitry Pirog Not Surprised WBO Took Away His Title". BoxingScene. Retrieved 25 January 2016. During training for the Golovkin fight, Pirog suffered a serious back injury—a ruptured disc—which forced cancellation of the fight.Rafael, Dan (5 July 2012). "Dmitry Pirog out with back injury". ESPN. Retrieved 25 January 2016. Several comeback attempts by Pirog to face Golovkin on an HBO pay-per-view main event were thwarted by ongoing back problems, effectively forcing his premature retirement.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.

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.

Political career In March 2017, Pirog replaced Alexander Metkin in the State Duma, the Russian lower house, representing governing party United Russia.

Sanctions Pirog was sanctioned by the British government in 2022 in relation to the Russo-Ukrainian War. He was also sanctioned by the United States Treasury on 24 March 2022.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes20Win20–0Nobuhiro IshidaUD121 May 201219Win19–0Gennady MartirosyanRTD10 (12), 25 Sep 201118Win18–0Javier MacielUD1226 Mar 201117Win17–0Daniel JacobsKO5 (12), 31 Jul 201016Win16–0Sergei MelisTKO6 (10), 27 Apr 201015Win15–0Eric MitchellTKO5 (12), 6 Feb 201014Win14–0Kofi JantuahUD1226 Jun 200913Win13–0Kuvanych ToygonbayevRTD5 (12), 6 Dec 200812Win12–0Geard AjetovicUD1019 Jul 200811Win11–0Aslanbek Kodzoev4 (12), 12 Apr 200810Win10–0Alexey ChirkovRTD2 (12), 25 Oct 20079Win9–0Aliaksandr VaiavodaTKO9 (10)2 Jun 20078Win8–0Juan Manuel AlaggioTKO4 (10)24 Mar 20077Win7–0Rodrigues MoungoTKO1 (6), 10 Dec 20066Win6–0Zviadi PurtskhvanidzeRTD5 (10), 25 Oct 20065Win5–0Islam YusupovTKO2 (10)17 Jul 20064Win4–0Sergey Tatevosyan1016 Apr 20063Win3–0Sergey GribkovTKO3 (6)23 Dec 20052Win2–0Denis Balandin3 (6), 4 Nov 20051Win1–0Sasun Oganyan6 (6)29 Jul 2005

See also List of middleweight boxing champions List of WBO world champions List of undefeated boxing world champions

References

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