Pirog to return to the states and fight Paul Williams or Andy Lee next?

Cliff · Mar 27, 2011

In what was expected to be a repeat of his electrifying knockout win over Daniel Jacobs last year, Russian born WBO middleweight titleholder Dmitry Pirog (18-0 with 14 Kos) turned in a less than exciting performance against a tougher than many expected Argentinian Javier Maciel (18-2 with 12 KOs) in Ekaterinburg, Russia in his first defense of the WBO title.

The action was tight and tense and both men moved and circled and spent more time defending and looking for openings than going at it. Maciel was a constantly moving target, shifting from aggressor to backwards moving counter puncher throughout. Pirog, a shifty multi-defense using right hander, seemed wary of Maciels right power hand and moved in close in spots to land his right hand and left to the body.

Pirog never seemed to find his rhythm which was understandable as Maciel kept him off it with counter right hands, combos that put Pirog in his shell and lateral movement that prevented the titleholder from landing cleanly more than one shot at a time. In the second, two clashes of heads seemed to untrack Pirog while Maciel gathered confidence of it, swarming with combinations that Pirog mostly blocked.

In the third, Maciel got Pirogs undivided attention using two solid right hands that landed flush. Not much else happened but the fight was far from in control as many had expected from Pirog.

As the bout wore on however, Pirog seemed to get more of a groove or at least seemed to understand more and more what was in front of it. He got to the body of Maciel, particularly with the left hook and was able to land a solid right hand in the fourth that backed Maciel up.

Later in the seventh round, Maciel began to get to Pirogs body and back him up. The eighth round proved tough for Pirog as well as Maciel landed three hard right hands that Pirog got all of. He smiled them off but they landed hard and he tied up for much of the back end of the round.

Pirog responded in the ninth round by getting uppercuts through Maciels guard and landing his best punch, a right hand that rocked Maciel back on his heels. The punch and the round seemed to stem the tide of momentum Maciel had built up.

Pirog lost a point in round ten for using his shoulder to bump Maciel off him to create space. However he was winning the round handily up to that point.

Pirog took charge late while Maciels output dwindled down the stretch. While it was a flat performance compared to his last outing, some of that must be attributed to Maciel, who while unknown, is a skilled cagey fighter who provided a tough test for the new titleholder. The judges scored it for Pirog unanimously 115-112, 117-110, and 115-111. Pirog and his team expect to fight in the US this summer on a major outlet such as Showtime or HBO. Bouts with middleweight contender Andy Lee and weight class mover Paul Williams are being sought according to Pirogs US promoter banner Promotions. No word from Pirogs European promoter German Titov as of yet.
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http://www.maxboxing.com/news/max-b...fully-defends-his-title-in-workmanlike-effort

Cliff · Mar 27, 2011

Paul vs Pirog would be a very interesting to say the least.

RafaelGonzal · Mar 27, 2011

Pirog should fight PW if he wants to be taken seriously and really wants to land a fight with an elite figter.

He put doubts in the Hype train, I hear he didnt look all that impressive on Saturday and might just be a pretty good fighter and thats it.

Kelly green · Mar 27, 2011

Andy Lee is fighting Brian vera next and i doubt he gets Paul williams in the ring.

Cliff · Mar 27, 2011

RafaelGonzal said: ↑

Pirog should fight PW if he wants to be taken seriously and really wants to land a fight with an elite figter.
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As an admitted passenger of the Pirog hype train I agree with this statement. And yeah, he didn't look very good in his recent fight with Maciel though I have seen him perform far better against solid opposition in the past. But for every person that likened him to the second coming of Hagler after the Jacobs KO there seems to be a lot of people that are trying to write him off completely after a less than stellar UD victory.

pipe wrenched · Mar 27, 2011

Kelly green said: ↑

Andy Lee is fighting Brian vera next and i doubt he gets Paul williams in the ring.
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Is this for sure now?:shock: Good fight for Andy.

Kelly green · Mar 27, 2011

pipe wrenched said: ↑

Is this for sure now?:shock: Good fight for Andy.
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Andy says he wants it after the Mcewan fight interview, brian said it on his twitter he wants it and Lou dibella said he will make it happen.

It will most likely happen on Martinezs next underard because they need someone to sell the tickets for Martinez.

Lee vs vera 2 is a fun tv fight.

Sandmanl337 · Mar 27, 2011

Williams vs Pirog makes sense.. Williams would be coming off his KO loss to Martinez and Pirog is trying to solidify his spot for a title.. This fight could produce fireworks..

H . · Mar 27, 2011

Kelly green said: ↑

Andy says he wants it after the Mcewan fight interview, brian said it on his twitter he wants it and Lou dibella said he will make it happen.

It will most likely happen on Martinezs next underard because they need someone to sell the tickets for Martinez.

Lee vs vera 2 is a fun tv fight.
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^hope it happens.

would like to see pirog vs williams although i keep hearin that paul is dropping weight

RafaelGonzal · Mar 27, 2011

just watched the Pirog vs Maciel fight, man Pirog can be timed with a sun dial guy is slow. Pirog looked like he was dipped im Molases. Martinez kills him right now and PW throws too many punches would overwelm and slice op the guy I saw last night.

From what I saw of Pirog Saturday any version of Kelly Pavlik at 160 Brutalizes this guy.
I give him a decent shot vs Andy Lee and even that isnt a sure thing.

Bogotazo · Mar 27, 2011

Pirog vs Pavlik or Paul would be great IMO.

Caliboxing · Mar 27, 2011

That would be great if PW is still a MW fighter. It would be an exciting fight and another chance for Williams to get a belt. The Lee fight would also be interesting.

Steenalized · Mar 27, 2011

Williams wants to go back to 147 doesn't he, or at the very least 154. I don't see that one happening. I'd like to see Pirog-Lee

cesare-borgia · Mar 27, 2011

Pirog beats lee, williams needs to go to 154.

Cliff · Mar 27, 2011

Steenalized said: ↑

Williams wants to go back to 147 doesn't he, or at the very least 154. I don't see that one happening. I'd like to see Pirog-Lee
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Williams said he will only go to 147 for Pac or Floyd. I think he would be best at 154 personally, but if he grabbed the strap from Dmitry at 160 he would have a serious case for making a trilogy with Sergio, which is a fight he says he wants.

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