View Full Version : Ray Leonard offered Aaron Pryor 500k to fight him?


Bright-Eyes
11-07-2009, 12:14 PM
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Post fight interview


I always laughed at claims that Ray Leonard ducked Aaron Pryor but I never actually knew that he offered to fight him,especially for that amount.Why did Pryor turn him down?

TheGreatA
11-07-2009, 12:27 PM
Pryor didn't think he was offered enough money.

Bright-Eyes
11-07-2009, 12:32 PM
Pryor didn't think he was offered enough money.

Do you know his average payday which he was picking up at the time? $500,000 seems like alot especially to fight the biggest star in boxing at the time.

TheGreatA
11-07-2009, 12:32 PM
Thanks a lot for posting this interview by the way. I've seen the fight several times but I've never listened to the interview.

I guess the talk about Leonard ducking Pryor can be silenced once and for all with these words coming from Pryor's own mouth.

Here's more about Pryor's management troubles:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1126084/index.htm

TheGreatA
11-07-2009, 12:34 PM
Do you know his average payday which he was picking up at the time? $500,000 seems like alot especially to fight the biggest star in boxing at the time.

I'm pretty sure that he didn't make any more than that for the average fight of his, he wasn't a big name, but he did make more money against Arguello.

Stoppage
11-07-2009, 12:39 PM
I remember debating with TheGreatA on whether Leonard ducked Pryor. I thought he did. I guess, in that point in time, he didn't.

Pryor should've taken it, though. That was a good amount of money to make, at the time.

mickey malone
11-07-2009, 01:06 PM
I remember debating with TheGreatA on whether Leonard ducked Pryor. I thought he did. I guess, in that point in time, he didn't.

Pryor should've taken it, though. That was a good amount of money to make, at the time.
Leonard called out Pryor, and Pryor turned it down because both men realized that Leonard would win easily..

Bright-Eyes
11-07-2009, 01:17 PM
The thing is,I don't even think that it was Aaron Pryor who claimed that Leonard ducked him in the "Pryor vs Arguello" legendary nights episode.I think it was Butch Lewis who said that he heard that Leonard had moved up to avoiding fighting him.

sonnyboyx2
11-07-2009, 01:29 PM
Leonard would have beaten Pryor...

TheGreatA
11-07-2009, 01:47 PM
The thing is,I don't even think that it was Aaron Pryor who claimed that Leonard ducked him in the "Pryor vs Arguello" legendary nights episode.I think it was Butch Lewis who said that he heard that Leonard had moved up to avoiding fighting him.

I don't think he ever has.

In 1982 when Leonard retired due to a detached retina, Pryor was one of the fighters who supported Leonard's decision. According to him there were negotiations going on about a possible fight between the two when it was found out that Leonard had injured his eye. Leonard had called Pryor out during the post-fight press conference after beating Hearns.

PED User
11-07-2009, 08:19 PM
Pryor made like $40,000 when he beat Cervantes, so $500k was a HUGE step up.

On the other hand, this is Sugar Ray Leonard we're talking about, a guy whose fights drew huge dollars. You can argue that Leonard low-balled Pryor, especially considering the fact that Pryor ended up making like a mil and a half against Arguello.

PED User
11-07-2009, 08:25 PM
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Post fight interview


I always laughed at claims that Ray Leonard ducked Aaron Pryor but I never actually knew that he offered to fight him,especially for that amount.Why did Pryor turn him down?


Thanks for this link.

Now I can bring it up whenever these Legendary Nights Era of Boxing Fans start yapping about Leonard being so scared of Pryor.

Shiranui
11-08-2009, 03:49 AM
Pryor didn't think he was offered enough money.

That's pretty bizarre, I'd never heard tell of any of this before. You'd think a killer like the Hawk would go for anything offered, as the rewards would come naturally.

Princemanspopa
11-08-2009, 01:32 PM
Aaron Pryor knew his limitations and knew how he would fare against an elite fighter in their prime and thought better.A prime Ray Leonard vs a prime Aaron Pryor is nothing short of a mismatch.


What time is it? It's ducking time for Mr Pryor.

mrboxer
11-08-2009, 01:44 PM
when was this supposed offer made,that is chump change for pryor, who at the time was the best fighter in the game he was the top pound for pound fighter,they,leonard,duran,benitez,hagler, were all afraid of pryor,nobody wanted a piece of him,:boxing: