Starting from Soviet times, the Russian boxing school has always been famous for its pupils. For many years in a row among the Russian fighters there were always those who climbed to the top of this sport, winning various significant international tournaments and titles. Grigory Drozd, who today is part of the cohort of the best heavy bands of the planet, was no exception in this sport. His biography is worth knowing in more detail, because it may well turn out to be a practical guide for many of us in what successes can be achieved in life, working hard and achieving your goals.
Native Siberian
The future world champion was born on August 26, 1979 in the Kemerovo region, the city of Prokopyevsk. His father was a simple miner. Originally Grigory Drozd I became interested in karate, which I began to practice at the age of 12. But three years later, the young man was in the boxing section. His first coach was Vitaly Ilyin, Honored Trainer of Russia, who was able to bring the guy to the highest sports level. At the age of 15, Gregory becomes the country's kickboxing champion, after which he takes 3rd place in the Asian Championship. In 1995, the athlete won the CIS boxing tournament in Thai. In 1997, as the youngest fighter, Grigory Drozd wins third place in the world championship in Thai boxing.
After that, he twice became the best on the European continent, for which he was awarded the title of master of sports of international class. The final chord in Thai boxing battles for Gregory was the world championship in Bangkok, which the Russian fighter won in 2001.
Transition to professional boxing
His first fight in the status of a pro Grigory Drozd spent in April 2001. The debut took place in the first heavyweight (up to 90.7 kg), in which the fighter has successfully performed to this day. In 2002, the boxer wins the Siberian championship, and in 2003 the All-Russian championship. March 2004 was marked for Grigory Anatolyevich by a magnificent knockout victory over an experienced rival from Mexico named Saul Montanu. The winning streak continued in January 2006, when Drozd “turned off the light” in the eyes of Pavel Melkomyan, who had no defeats at that time.
After this, another battle of Grigory Drozd held already in 2012, in which he defeated the Frenchman Jean-Marc Monrose. Forced simple was justified by a rather serious injury to the Russian.
October 2013 brought a significant victory for Drozd over Mateusz Masternak. This allowed Drozd to receive the title of European champion. Moreover, for the Pole, defeat was the first in his career.
Title defense came on March 15, 2014. And she also proved to be quite successful for our hero. Already in the first round, Drozd will knock out his French opponent Jeremy Hannah.
Reaching the top
Such a rapid professional development of the Russian boxing star did not go unnoticed by the functionaries. And therefore, on September 27, 2014, Grigory Drozd, whose weight always fit perfectly into the limit of his chosen category, enters the ring against the then-existing world champion Krzysztof Volodarchik. Gregory emerged victorious from this battle and became the new WBC cruiserwea king.
Let us pay attention to the fact that during the battle the Pole was counted down when he knelt down, defending himself from the attacks of the Russian. It is worth noting that initially in this battle Drozd was considered an outsider according to various experts and bookmakers. But his unconditional, confident and bright victory on points put everything in its place.
Unfortunately, in August 2015, the public became aware that Gregory received an extremely unpleasant knee injury and would not be able to fight the mandatory title challenger Ilunga Makaba in November. At the moment, the battle was postponed approximately to the spring of 2016.
Life outside the ring
Sport, of course, takes up the lion's share of personal time for all athletes, especially in such a form as boxing. Grigory Drozd is also no exception in this matter, distinguished by colossal capacity for work and hard work.
Nevertheless, the illustrious fighter managed to find time in order to get higher education at the Siberian State Academy of Physical Culture. In addition, he periodically acts as a sports commentator, and also devotes time to popularizing sports among young people in his homeland.