He hails from Temryuk in Russia, yet boxes as if he were born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He used to play chess, but switched to boxing for the exercise. He had over 230 amateur fights in Russia, but studied the tapes of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Roy Jones Jr, Sugar Ray Leonard and other great American fighters. 

Incredibly, it paid off in droves for the lanky, white skinned, red-haired Dmitry Pirog. His blend of the classic Eastern European work-ethic allied to slick US boxing skills has proved to be a lethal combination. 

In July 2010, Pirog stunned US boxing by dominating top prospect Daniel Jacobs before icing him with a vicious right hand in the fifth round to win the vacant WBO middleweight title. It was only Pirog's 17th pro fight, yet he displayed the skills and self assurance normally associated with a veteran. 

Carrying his left hand low, throwing fast jabs and lead rights, moving lightly on his feet and showing excellent head movement, Pirog bore no resemblance to the typical Eastern European fighter – he of the high-guard and robotic moves. In fact, Pirog moves and boxes better than the majority of American fighters today.  

Pirog's performance certainly came as a shock for Jacobs - the flashy youngster that Golden Boy Promotions had high hopes for – and it looked as if the American had failed to do his homework on his opponent. Jacobs  seemed completely unable to fathom out the Russian's next move, especially the bolt-from-the-blue straight right that ended the fight.  

Pirog has subsequently made two defenses of his WBO belt this year, outpointing Argentinian Javier Maciel in March, and stopping Armenia's Gennady Martirosyan in ten. Both bouts took place in Russia, and on both occasions, Pirog displayed his wide range of skills, plus the supreme confidence associated with being a world champion.

However, would this be enough to unseat the current undisputed king of the middleweight division – Argentina's Sergio Gabriel Martinez, the WBC's Diamond belt holder? 

Pirog's promotional team headed by Kirill Pchelnikov are convinced we may never find out. They believe the 36 year old Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KOs) has no interest in a unification fight with Pirog, and claim they had a recent offer of $3 million turned down by Martinez's promoter, Lou DiBella, who reportedly told them if they wanted to do business, Martinez's asking price was $6 million.

"In my opinion, all of these statements from DiBella - he is simply refusing the fight," said Pchelnikov recently. "They don't want to face Dmitry Pirog, at least in the near future. The question here is not even the millions of dollars involved. If we offer them $6 million, they would find other excuses. Why should he fight Piorg when he can face two boxers where his victory is guaranteed, for the same money. We are ready to fight with everyone, and even with Martinez if he gives us the nod. We are ready to fight him at any time and anywhere."

Martinez, who turns 37 in February, has hopes of landing a mega pay-day against the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather or Saul Alvarez. The Argentinian was made to work hard in his most recent bout, struggling with Britain's Darren Barker before knocking him out in the eleventh round.

However according to Pchelnikov, it is not just Martinez who is avoiding Pirog - WBA champion Felix Sturm also wants no part of him: 

"But in addition to Martinez, there are other boxers, and we have other options for Pirog. As far as the next opponent, that will be revealed later on. The only thing I can say - we have had discussions with Felix Sturm, but he refused to fight Pirog, and he booked a fight with Englishman Martin Murray."

A big problem for Pirog is the fact that he has only boxed once so far in the US, and once in Germany – the two powerhouse nations of world boxing today. If  Pchelnikov is serious about building his fighter's profile and making him a more appealing proposition for the likes of Martinez, Sturm, IBF middleweight champion Daniel Geale and WBC title holder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, he needs to say ''Do svidaniya!'' to Mother Russia, at least for a while.