Vassiliy Jirov

Vassiliy Jirov, a former cruiserweight world champion, had a prolific career in professional boxing that spanned over 12 years from 1997 to 2009. With a record of 38-3-1, including 32 knockout wins and only one loss via knockout, Jirov was a force to be reckoned with in the ring.

Jirov's debut fight was on January 18, 1997, against Vincent Brown, where he won via 2nd round TKO. Jirov went on to win thirty consecutive fights after his debut, which included 26 wins via stoppage. His first world title fight was at 25 years old, where he challenged Arthur Williams for the cruiserweight IBF title on June 5, 1999. Jirov emerged victorious after seven rounds via TKO and became the cruiserweight champion of the world.

Some of Jirov's most notable victories include defeats over Terry McGroom, Alex Gonzales, Julian Letterlough, Arthur Williams, Don Normand, Esteban Pizzarro, and Earl Butler.

Jirov has had a total of three losses in his professional boxing career, with two in non-title bouts and one in a title bout. His first loss came via a 12-round unanimous decision to James Toney on April 26, 2003, which ended his 31-fight win streak. He has been stopped once and lost two times via decision. Despite these losses, Jirov left a significant impact on the sport of boxing.

One of Jirov's career highlights was on February 6, 2001, when he defeated Alex Gonzales to successfully defend the IBF cruiserweight title via a first-round knockout. He once again defended his title against Terry McGroom on March 24, 2001, with a first-round knockout. On February 1, 2002, Jirov successfully defended his IBF cruiserweight title against Jorge Castro via a 12-round unanimous decision.

Jirov's most notable fight of his career was on May 22, 2004, where he faced off against former heavyweight world champion, Joe Louis's great-nephew, Chris Byrd. Jirov was climbing in weight class to challenge Byrd for his IBF heavyweight world title. Though Jirov suffered a loss in the fight via a unanimous decision, he showed remarkable heart and courage, taking the fight until the end despite being outsized by Byrd.

Unfortunately, Jirov's career began to slow down after his fight against Byrd, and he struggled in his next few fights. He lost to Guillermo Jones on November 11, 2005, via a 12-round split decision, and then lost to Danny Batchelder via a split decision over six rounds. Jirov's last professional fight was a non-title bout against Jonathan Williams on October 17, 2009. Jirov won the fight via 2nd round TKO.

Despite the end of his career, Jirov left a significant impact on the sport of boxing. He proved himself to be a technically skilled and powerful puncher, winning 32 of his 38 fights via knockout. Jirov is regarded as one of the most talented fighters to come out of Kazakhstan, and his legacy as a cruiserweight champion will not be forgotten anytime soon. His name will forever be etched in the history of boxing, and he will always be remembered as a true warrior in the ring.

Vassiliy Jirov Fight Record