I think Pavlik would beat Pirog, but Kelly is too fat and drunk, so I think Felix Sturm would be the best possible fight for him. Sturm has a fast, hard jab that he lands almost at will. He might be able to keep Pirog at bay and set him up for power shots.
I like Maravilla so I feel he should get the honor to expose that featherfisted fragile pseudo slickster.:hey Maravilla should fight Pirog and than go for Void that would be fun :bbb
Someone already proposed it but, Christ is a good match-up for him stylistically. He's open for an overhand right, say the scriptures. And I also think, in addition to bringing a marquee name and a crapload of money, he's well past it.
As much as I wanna be on the Pirog hype train, I don't see future p4per in him, maybe just a solid champ. However that is a while away, it is way to early to be throwing him in with Martinez, Sturm or Pavlik. However I think Lemuiex and Chavez are good fights for him, pitting upcoming stars against one another. If he can pull off another dominant performance like the Jacob's fight, then we can start talking going after the big boys. Personally I'd love to see him land one of those bombs on JCC Jr.
I think Pirog should face guys which allow him to develop more before going for the big guys in the division. He should face decent guys like Barker and Andy Lee.
With all the hype Pirog is getting he is exactly what Pavlik needs. Pirog is nowhere near ready for that level of opponent, but if a top middleweight is going to destroy him, it might as well be KP. Reality is Pirog needs 4-5 fights with guys like Mustache Rubio, David Lopez, Andy Lee, David Lemiuex, et, before he even considers a top guy.