Two unbeaten fighters with the talent and skills to be a dangerous opponent in their weight class but ended up retiring early, both having a record of 20-0, 15 KOs. Who do you think had greater potential to go far were it not for their circumstances (Ibeabuchi being crazy, Pirog back problems)? Do you think Ibeabuchi or Pirog had a good chance of being the top fighter in their weight class at the time? Ike Ibeabuchi could have faced Lennox Lewis or Mike Tyson along the way after he had beaten Chris Byrd. Dmitry Pirog was also scheduled to face GGG back in 2012 but had to pull out from ongoing back injuries. It would have been interesting to see Pirog face the likes of GGG and Sergio Martinez while they were both champions at the time.
Judging by the fact that his best two wins were over 2 HW's that after they lost to him climbed into and stayed in the top 10 for probably a decade after he beat them both, I'd say Ike. Pirog was definitely a big loss to the MW division though. So slick............so white
Bump. I think Ibeabuchi could have been a threat for Lewis / Klitschko / Tyson, although it's not a given that he would beat them. Pirog vs GGG / Martinez / Canelo would have been amazing to see.
Pirog was more skilled, but Ibeabuchi would’ve probably gone further, maybe not relative to the competition though, but in terms of legacy and his resume in general.
The thread is talking about a not crazy Ike. I know it’s weird comparison since Pirog could’ve avoided a back injury if he hadn’t chopped wood whereas Ike basically would’ve needed a different biological mother to not be crazy.
Pirog. More skilled, more focused, and would've been more competitive with the top of his division at the time. Ike's style and lifestyle were both unsustainable and he would be a much easier puzzle to solve for the likes of Lewis and the Klitschkos than Pirog would have been for Golovkin, Canelo, Martinez, Cotto, and company.
