Pirog has one good win at the weight. He's honestly just slightly above Chavez Jr. and only because he won his fight more convincingly. Sturm doesn't fight top competition enough. Golovkin has one good win but not even as good as Chavez' or Pirog's. Lee and Vera both have decent wins at the weight. It's pretty tough between these guys, but I'd give the edge to the winner of Lee vs. Vera.
It has to be Sturm, looking at his defenses and reign. But judging by pure ability and skills I say Golovkin is the goods after Martinez. Lets hope he gets a decent fight soon. These new Russians look promising though. Pirog can also make some noise if he stays active.
No you just cant. Sturm has a long reign, Pirog had one defense and he looked sloppy in that fight. Lets wait and see.
I remember that crowd in the Pirog fight. They were not giving a **** about anything. The only real Russian who is regularly on American TV, is Ruslan Provodnikov. He is entertaining to watch too. Saw him few times on ESPN. Pirog fighting in Russia wont help him one bit, but I read its good money afterall. Get a fight with Andy Lee, Sturm unification etc.
Matthew Macklin and Daniel Geale should at least be in the discussion, much more so than Chavez. I voted Sturm, but Macklin might be right there with him. Head to head, it's Golovkin, no doubt.
Sturm is probably the top contender to Martinez. I think Sturm's has milked his title though, in all fairness, there are a few solid names sprinkled in there. But noone else has done enough to claim the #1 contender spot over him. I think a few guys might beat him but right now its Sturm even though I'm not crazy about giving him too much credit.