Dmitry Pirog

Dmitry Yurievich Pirog(Russian:Дмитрий Юрьевич Пирог; born 27 June 1980) is a Russian politician and formerprofessional boxer. In boxing he competed from 2005 to 2012, and held theWorld Boxing Organization(WBO)middleweighttitle from 2010 to 2012. Although his career was cut short due to a debilitating back injury, he is one of the few professional boxers towin a world championship and retire undefeated.
At the age of eight, Pirog was a keenchessplayer and won some tournaments in the town ofTemryuk, Russia.However, he soon felt as though he was not getting enough activity from chess, and decided to seek a sport instead. At his local gym, he discovered boxing and began fighting as anamateur, having relocated to the city ofKrasnodar. At the early stages of his amateur career he didn't have a trainer, instead he studied carefullyVHS tapesofSugar Ray Leonardand laterFloyd Mayweather Jr., which affected his style heavily. In his amateur career, Pirog claims to have won 200 fights and lost 30,all of which prepared him for the professional ranks.
Pirog made his professional debut on 29 July 2005, scoring a sixth-roundtechnical knockoutover fellow debutant Sasun Oganyan. On his fourth fight, he defeatedSergey Tatevosyanto become the Russian nationalmiddleweightchampion. Tatevosyan was an experienced veteran and gave Pirog a tough fight, but Pirog's skills ultimately prevailed and he won aunanimous decision98–91, 98–93, and 97–95.From late 2007 to early 2010, Pirog won many regional and internationalmiddleweighttitles from both theWBCandWBO.
Pirog's first world title shot arrived on 31 July 2010, against fellow undefeated prospectDaniel Jacobs, with the vacant WBO middleweight title on the line. The belt had last belonged toSergio Martínez, who was stripped due to not complying with the WBO's rules. Pirog came in as a relatively unknown contender to American audiences, while Jacobs had the overwhelming backing of managerAl Haymonand promotersGolden Boy,as well as a very highknockoutpercentage. Jacobs started the fight well and was ahead by 39–37 on all scorecards by round four. However, Pirog managed to hurt Jacobs with a right hand. In the fifth round of the fight, Pirog scored a major upset when he knocked Jacobs down with a hard right hand. Jacobs was unable to get back up and the referee waved off the fight, giving Pirog a knockout win and making him the new WBO middleweight champion. After the fight, Pirog said "After the second round, I knew I was good. I hurt him in the second and I knew I could come back and do it again."
Pirog's exposure to worldwide audiences grew overnight, as the fight took place onHBO pay-per-viewas part of the undercard toJuan Manuel Márquez vs. Juan Díaz II. However, in his subsequent two years as champion, Pirog only managed to make three defences,the last of which took place on 1 May 2012. In this fight, Pirog scored a wide unanimous decision, with scores of 120–108, 119–109, and 117–111, againstNobuhiro Ishida.
On 25 August 2012, Pirog was stripped of his title by the WBO after choosing to fightWBAandIBOmiddleweight championGennady Golovkininstead of WBOinterimchampionHassan N'Dam N'Jikam.During training for the Golovkin fight, Pirog suffered a serious back injury—a ruptureddisc—which forced cancellation of the fight.Several comeback attempts by Pirog to face Golovkin on an HBO pay-per-view main event were thwarted by ongoing back problems, effectively forcing his premature retirement.
Pirog is a diploma graduate ofKuban State Universityand holds a managerial boxing license. Some of the boxers he has managed include Fedor Papazov and Vasily Lepikhin. In 2010, Pirog was the vice president of the Professional Boxing Federation in theSouthern Federal Districtof Russia.
In March 2017, Pirog replaced Alexander Metkin in theState Duma, the Russianlower house, representing governing partyUnited Russia.
Pirog was sanctioned by theBritish governmentin 2022 in relation to theRusso-Ukrainian War.He was also sanctioned by theUnited States Treasuryon 24 March 2022.