Grigory Drozd

Childhood and youth

Grigory Anatolyevich Drozd was born on August 26, 1979 in the south of Siberia, in the Kemerovo region. The city of Prokopyevsk, where Grisha grew up, is one of the largest coal mining centers in Russia. Mom and dad of the future champion worked as miners. Parents played sports and led a healthy lifestyle. My mother was fond of skiing, and my father was fond of hockey. They strongly encouraged Gregory's desire for physical development. The boy tried his hand at various disciplines: he was engaged in hockey, athletics, skiing and even played on spoons. The Drozd family lived in the private sector. Fights between boys are a common thing for the local population of Prokopyevsk. Little Grisha wanted to learn how to stand up for himself. He started attending the "underground" karate section. I have clearly decided for myself that I need to be able to fight. The situations were different. Talk is talk, but if you don't know how to do anything, you'll walk in bruises. I didn't really want that." - Grigory Drozd. The "boom" in karate classes gradually turned into a craze among Russian youth for a new type of martial arts for the CIS countries - Thai boxing. The Blackbird did not escape the temptation to test his strength in "tae" either. A 15-year-old boy had a good karate base behind him. The adaptation in the new form of martial arts took place quickly. The results were not long in coming. For 6 years of his career in Thai boxing, Grigory won the World Championship, the European Championship and received the title of ZMS (Honored Master of Sports). Speaking at various Thai boxing tournaments, Grigory trained in the halls with professional boxers. In 1999, he met MSMK (Master of Sports of International Class) boxing coach Sergey Nikolaevich Vasiliev. The mentor suggested that Grigory try his hand at a new sport - boxing. "I wanted to try something new. I've always had great hands. 21 years old. Why not?" - Grigory Drozd. Drozd spent only 3 fights in the amateur ring. He won in all of them. The young man needed money. Amateur boxing did not bring material dividends. Grigory lived in Moscow, in a rented apartment, far from his native Prokopyevsk. He grew up in the private sector. The huge metropolis exerted great psychological pressure on him. Several times the Blackbird wanted to quit boxing and go home. During the depression, he went to the gym and trained beyond the norm. Need pushed him into the professional ring. Professional boxing Grisha started in "pro" in April 2001. He performed in Russia, Ukraine, Austria and had one fight in the USA. In 2005, Drozd signed a contract with the German promotion company "Universe Box Promotion" (Universum Box-Promotion). By that time, Grigory was in the leading positions in the rating lists of the first heavy division and won several minor titles. In October 2006, Grisha stopped a step away from the championship match. In the fight for the title of mandatory challenger according to the WBA version, he lost in the 5th round to the experienced German Firat Arslan. The defeat threw the Blackbird "to the margins" of the ratings. He had to start over the difficult path to the top of world boxing. The thrush returned with victories and closed the defeat to Arslan. In 2009, he ended his career for family reasons. Grisha returned to the ring in 2011. After 3 recovery fights, he signed a contract with the World of Boxing company. The boxer asked the promoter Andrey Ryabinsky to take him to the title fight the shortest way. The World of Boxing company organized two fights for Grigory with top representatives of the first heavy division - Jean-Marc Monroze and Mateusz Masternak. Drozd defeated both fighters, won the title of European champion and became the first number of the world ranking according to the WBC. "I realized that I didn't have time at all. The world champion should have been yesterday, not today. 35 years old. You get tired of waiting." - Grigory Drozd. The WBC world champion, Pole, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk arrived in Moscow with the rank of a clear favorite. It was the 7th defense of the title of the famous champion. A year before the fight with Grisha, Krzysztof dealt with another Russian boxer, Olympic champion, Rahim Chakhkiev. "I couldn't lose. We developed the perfect tactics and won the duel. Sergey Nikolaevich, the second coach Vitaly Miller and, of course, my family believed in my victory." - Grigory Drozd. Grigory defeated Wlodarczyk. He controlled the distance and clearly executed the plan for the duel. All three judges gave the victory to the challenger: 119-108 - twice, 118-109. 13 years after his debut in the professional ring, Drozd achieved his goal - he became the new world champion. The WBC gold belt adorned the waist of the Russian fighter. After the triumph in the championship fight, Grisha defended the title against the compatriot of Wlodarczyk - Lukas Janik. The thrush was tormented by old injuries. The fight with Ilunga Makabu, scheduled for April 2016, broke down. The Russian champion left the title vacant. The World Boxing Council has assigned him the status of "champion on vacation". "I couldn't defend the title because of injuries. It was necessary to give the opportunity to other fighters from the Top 10 of the WBC to compete for the belt. Fans need boxing. They need a drive. We need championship fights. I understood it perfectly and supported it." - Grigory Drozd. On December 31, 2017, on New Year's Eve, Grigory Drozd announced his retirement from sports. His record was 40 wins, 28 of them by knockout and 1 defeat.

After boxing, personal life and family

Grisha is married. Spouse - Julia. The couple has a son. The boy is engaged in hockey. Thrush strongly supports his child's sports hobbies, as his parents once did. Drozd has completed his professional career. But he didn't quit boxing. The champion is engaged in the development of social projects and sports, is a representative from the Kemerovo region in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and president of the Thai Boxing Federation in Moscow. Grigory actively supports physical fitness, regularly acts as a commentator, shares his experience with viewers and promotes sports and a healthy lifestyle. In Grigory's hometown, Prokopyevsk, school No. 26 was named in his honor, in which the champion studied from 1st to 10th grade. In the ring, Drozd was distinguished by tactical thinking and well-placed defense. His nickname "Handsome" speaks for itself. He missed a lot, had good stamina and a strong punch. Grigory is a vivid example of a boxer who, having practically no experience of an amateur career, went through many difficulties of professional boxing and achieved the title of world champion.