I agree to a certain extent but, being accepted by HBO would not have prevented a serious back injury. His career would have been short lived regardless. Damn good fighter nonetheless, absolute shame.
Short lived either way, but man, I'd have loved to see that year and a half of him on HBO instead of 2 bit streams from Siberia
He was something. Jacobs was doing ok but, once Pirog found him, he found him. How do you think a fight between Pirog and 3G would have gone?
Ah Pirog. One of the most unfortunate fighters in recent history. I would have happily picked him over Sergio, who lets face it was more than a little overrated following the Williams knockout.
I'd have loved to see that fight. I think GGG had the styles edge because it'd have been a herculean task for Dmitry to maintain his signature upper body movement vs GGG's pressure for an entire fight, but I do think Pirog had the ability to pull the upset. His lower output would put him at a natural disadvantage on the cards so I think, ultimately, he'd have a smaller margin for error...but he was good enough to pull off the W on the right day had he been healthy in 2012, even if I wouldn't favor him.
I wouldn't call Pirog a sob story. He earned millions fighting limited opposition in Russia and was a respected amateur there--where it counts for a lot more.