Dmitry Pirog

With a 90% healthy back, I think he beats the mentioned boxers. People look at him post Jacobs and talk ****, but they don't realize the Jacobs fight was the last fight where his back was semi serviceable still. Once his back was done, it took away some of his effectiveness, limiting his ability to put guys away, limiting his defensive mobility, and limiting his power.

 

He had 20 fights and at 30-years old he beat a 23-year old with cancer, and was struggling with him. I think Golovkin would have done him easily.

 

Pirog was genuine, he was the real deal, I have no doubt in my mind.

It is actually very sad and extremely frustrating we never got to see Pirog Vs Golovkin, it would have been beautifully brutal.

 

Valero was on a much higher level than Pirog and fought better fighters. I'd rate Lamar Parks, and of course the guy he was supposed to fight, Gerald McCllelan as better "what-ifs" as well.

 

It would not have been easy, at that the time GGG and Pirog were scheduled to fight I'd say Golovkins best win was probably Kassim Ouma, have you ever seen that fight?

 

Yup, but Golovkin wasn't 30 and didn't retire at 32, and Ouma was an ex-world champ, presumably without cancer. I take nothing against Pirog, he seized his moment, but so did Buster Douglas.

Golovkin is a hall-of-famer, Pirog is a guy who had one half-decent win.

 

Did you just compare Pirog to Buster Douglas?

 

You're right, Bro.
Beating coked-out Mike Tyson is a helluvalot more impressive than beating Danny Jacobs with cancer.

 

Pirog already was having serious back issues when the GGG fight was made and eventually cancelled. His back gave him issues during the fight with that Argentinian guy in Russia right after Jacobs.

 

You are claiming Jacobs had cancer during the Pirog fight and I assume that is why he lost in your mind?

His diagnosis was not until several months after the Pirog fight but i guess claiming he was in a weakend condition due to the metastasizing cancer cells makes a convenient excuse that helps you sleep at night?

 

Well I'm no doctor, but I don't think it's like the flu where you get caught in the rain one night and 24 hours later you have a fever.

 

Possibly the best middleweight of his generation or even since Monzón. Sucks that we never can know.