Would Pirog have derailed the GGG hypetrain?

I would never characterize a front foot fighter as a slickster. Using false distance and pressure footwork to set up counters is "slick", yes. I personally associate slickster with a back foot fighter though.

Is this really going to be about semantics? I've agreed with your characterization of Pirog and admitted mine was shallow and uncharitable. I'll try to be more thoughtful in the future.

 

Did GGG prove himself to be much better than Derevyanchenko, Jacobs or Canelo? No. Pirog outclassed Jacobs, young or not he showed him who was boss in there and stopped him brilliantly. It's not that your opinion was crap or anything, you're just saying **** that's blatantly untrue and that will get on my nerves. Pirog was not even close to a bruiser, I don't know how you even said that seriously. Just ****ing stupid.

 

That makes no sense, slick has nothing to do with what direction you move but how you make people miss... See you're just convincing me more and more that you know **** all about boxing. You certainly have never hopped in the ring if you don't understand what certain terms mean.

 

I noted Golovkin's late performances against those people in my posts with very specific commentary on Jacobs' evasion and Canelo/Derev's pressure. If anything, I think Pirog would mostly resemble the first Canelo fight, waiting on counters and eating 3 jabs in the mean time. Of course, he wouldn't gas and sit on the ropes not doing anything for long stretches.

By your own characterization of Pirog's style, I think you can agree with that assessment, no?

 

Nah, his head and feet aren't static enough to eat a lot of jabs like Canelo did. He doesn't stand there with a high guard hoping to rip off flashy combos to nick rounds. Very different styles. The only similarity is the level of upper body movement they have.

 

A drawback of boxing is the lack of universal vocabulary. I'm not really interested in a semantic discussion so you can think what you want. Much more interested in the specifics of this match up which I've tried to consolidate above. Not sure why you're still mad. I've admitted I was in the wrong. The majority of my posts on here are very uncertain. I would never pretend I am the authority on anything.

 

So who would you compare Pirog to of GGG's opponents then? Given we need a point of reference. I don't think there is a better candidate than Canelo 1. Derev is a much more reckless fighter. An action fighter if anything. He's paid for that a few times.

 

But these terms are quite universal, slick and bruiser evoke a clear understanding of what they entail. The context for what these terms mean is all around you in boxing. Now you've just proved to me you haven't been around boxing enough to get a full grasp on the sport yet.

 

He's like nothing GGG has faced, plain and simple. There have been no slick fighters with good footwork and power who could also push GGG back with their pressure. Pirog is very unique with his style, it's very hard to compare him to anyone except maybe Pretty Boy Floyd, someone he modelled himself after.

 

This reads more like fandom that anything of predictive value in what would happen if they met.

 

Pirog beats him on points.

 

Yes, Pirog was the real deal ,GGG was the real hype that supposedly could knock out heavy weights before fighting Jacobs and Canelo...

 

I think so in fact slight edge to Pirog vs G 55/45

 

It's not a fandom of Pirog as much as a recognition of his unique skillset which I doubt many would deny he had. He even said he modelled himself after Floyd and you can see it in a lot of his work.

 

That's fine, but it's not really pertinent to the match up. Amir Imam modeled himself after Joe Gans. Didn't help him much when he stepped up a level. Golovkin's performances against lower level fighters, like many prospects, are not indicative of his behavior against elite competition. There are less unknowns surrounding his pedigree. Their amateur careers aren't comparable. Their level of competition is not comparable. To use Jacobs as a touchstone is intellectually dishonest. That knockout was important in Jacob's development, but it did not represent who he was when he set foot in the ring with Golovkin.

I don't know how anybody has the kind of faith to pick a fighter defined by unfulfilled potential over perhaps the greatest middleweight of the century. Nobody has sold me on this analytically either. Nobody ever made Golovkin look silly boxing wise. They made him look fragile late in his career. They revealed his marketing campaign as a come forward knockout puncher was a gimmick. But I guess if you never make it that far, we can just project greatness upon you.