What are your thoughts on Aaron Pryor, what would have happened if he never got his coke addiction, I really wanted to see him fight Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns..

He did beat Thomas Hearns as a amateur, but i wish they fought again as a pro cuz thats when hearns was hot, and ****in leonard ducked him!

Aaron Pryor is on my top 3 favorite fights of all time, i got him. thomas hearns, and marvin hagler on that list, no particular order

I think he could've accomplished a lot in his career
He had a very cool additude to
He had all this guys around him, he would yell "what time is it!?" they would yell "hawk time"

He was a scary guy to be fighting to, and i love his style and the way he fights, he has maybe one of the biggest hearts i've ever seen in a fighter

Great topic man. Excellent. I would like to say that He is one of my all time favorite fighters as well. This guy was a ridiculous fighter, just a machine...plain and simple. Especially in his prime. The only way for someone to beat him, was to knock him out. There was no way to simply outpoint him, because he was very quick. People rarely talk about his speed in the ring. He was lighting fast, and would simply bum rush opponents and attack them. He is one of the most Ruthless fighters I have ever seen as well.

His knockout of Cervantes was awesome. Successions of power punches would lead to the doom of virtually everyone he ever faced in his entire career. I am still in shock that his only loss was To Bobby Joe Young, a fighter whom I though he would beat if they faced again. Of course, his demolishing of Arguello 2 times is the most notable, but this guy had plenty of fights.

I also belive Ray Leonard moved Up to avoid him. There was no denying that>

He kicked Hearns' ass in the ameteurs, and nobody can challenge him at any weight he fought at in his prime. NOBODY.

Aaron Pryor was a badass, plain and simple, and he did have a chance to beat Leonard if they had fought.

Finally we agree on something Knives.

Man possessed. one of the most driven fighters I've seen.

Hearns as a pro and Leonard as a pro would have been too much for him at 147.

Outside of that, I loved the Hawk and he gave us two fantastic fights against Arguello. His workrate and determination are paralleled by few. He was a joy to watch in his prime.

Well aaron pryors loss happened when he got his coke addiction man

I wish that never happened

Well aaron pryors loss happened when he got his coke addiction man

I wish that never happened

Worst drug on the face of the earth. Crack is a plauge. Plain and simple. That has destroyed life after life. People sell everything important to them, destroy their lives in pursuit of it. I have seen FIRST HAND the horrors involved with smoking Rock, and Its too damn bad Pryor fell victim. Yes. Horrible.
People who sell it to fiends, should be shot IMO. And I know exactly why. **** gets you nowhere.
Like DMX says:
"Ive done been to hell and back....I aint wit sellin Crack....Rather Robb a *****, Leave em witha shell up in his back." Yes true. Sell them crack, you kill them slowly.

Just look what it did to Tapia, and he is one of the GREATEST fighters of ALL TIME.

Simply a machine that didn't stop. He'd run after you at the start of the bell and never stop. Decent power, incredible stamina, and durability. Though he is probably the greatest 140 pound fighter, or at least one of them, his overall achievements aren't too mind boggling.

His greatest victory was against Alexis Arguello, who was a couple years and two weight classes past his prime. Nevertheless, they were impressive victories against a favored opponent (if i remember correctly).

Would've lost to Hearns and Leonard, imo. Amatuer fights mean almost nothing in the pros.

Aaron Pryor was as close as us modern guys were ever going to get to the great, and i mean ****ING GREAT henry armstrong. pryor was an incredible finisher, once he had u hurt he was like a shark who smelled blood

The first thought I have in regards to Aaron Pryor?

OVERATED!

The first thought I have in regards to Aaron Pryor?
OVERATED!

Would you like to explain that:

or are you sticking with your lenghty explaination as it stands?

Dude, Pryor took out Alexis Arguello. The man is in the hall of fame and was not old and worn when Pryor beat him. I cant understand the comment of overrated either.............Rockin'

Dude, Pryor took out Alexis Arguello. The man is in the hall of fame and was not old and worn when Pryor beat him. I cant understand the comment of overrated either.............Rockin'

True, Arguello was still a very formidable opponent when Pryor stepped into the ring with him, and was even ranked very highly in the p4p rankings (along with being a 2 to 1 favourite to beat Pryor). But it's comments like these that make me think Pryor was overated; "Leonard ducked Pryor" or "Pryor was the closest thing to Henry Armstrong" or "Pryor would beat Hearns like he did in the amatuers".

First off, why on earth would Leonard be scared of Aaron Pryor, when he showed no qualms about getting into the ring with the much more dangerous and ALOT more highly regarded, Thomas Hearns? When Leonard faced Hearns, he was not only facing a fighter who showed very impressive skill and knockout POWER, but who was also thought of as the number one p4p fighter in the sport (Aug 1981 poll of boxing experts listed Hearns at the very top). Of course, Leonard suffered a detached retina in that fight (or was it in training for the Finch fight), which forced him to retire for the first time. Now, at the time Leonard retired, Pryor wasn't even thought of as much of a threat to a former featherweight (hence the odds on that fight), and that retirement was announced about a week before the first Pryor/Arguello fight (the public most wanted a Hagler/Leonard fight or at least Leonard/Hearns rematch)...Pryor called out a recently retired man after that first fight with the 'Thin Man', and before that Aaron was NOT considered one of the best fighters, nor was he financially rewarding fight for Leonard. Leonard had bigger fish to fry, as evident by his later challenge of Hagler!

Besides some style similiarities between Pryor and Henry Armstrong, where's the comparision? In his career, Henry Armstrong won at least a dozen fights against HOF'ers and won titles in three of the original eight weight divisions (of course, at the same time). And I believe he still holds the record for most title defenses in welterweight history, does he not?

Pryor? Three wins over HOF'ers and a reign at one of these JR. divisions. Like I said, even though he wasn't at his best weight, Arguello is a nice notch to have on anybody's record. But Cervantes was definately on his last legs when he entered the ring against Pryor, and in one of his last title defenses, looked very, very un-Cervantes-like against the Korean novice, who could've very well been given the decision in that fight with 'Kid Pambele'. The Cervantes that Pryor beat was a HOF'er in name only, and was no where near the fighter he was earlier in his career.

So Pryor beat Arguello, so what? So did Vilomar Fernandez, who beat a younger version of Arguello who was also closer to his prime fighting weight.

And Pryor beating Hearns as an amatuer is MEANINGLESS in discussing how they'd do against each other as pros. That fight was a 20 year-old man facing and beating a very skinny 16 or 17 year old boy. I suppose if we give that victory by Pryor weight, we should do the same with Henry Tillman's victory over a teenager by the name of Mike Tyson...Oh wait.

Listen, Aaron Pryor was a very good fighter (maybe even great), who was very exciting to watch. And his first fight with Arguello is always going to be amongst my favourite fights to watch. But an all-time great? I don't see it. Especially when I grew up watching the guy's career unfold in real time, and at that time, he wasn't nearly held in as high regard as some of the other great fighters of that era (Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler etc.). But it seems revisionists wants to proclaim him on that level because he was tremendously exciting and had an all-time classic fight or two.

Pryor was a very exciting fighter. We will never know how great he could have been becuase he couldn't stay clean. The accusations of Leonard ducking Pryor are untrue. Pryor tried to egg Leonard into a fight by showing up at press conferences and moving his mouth. The facts are that Leonard had bigger fish to fry for more dollars. To say that a man who faced Benitez,Hearns,Duran and Hagler was afraid of little Pryor is absurd in my opinion. At Welterweight, Leonard would have been too much of everything for The Hawk.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching Pryor and still can't figure what they put in his chin (or is that in his nose?) that enabled him to take those right hands from Alexis.

Oh, great!

I was chosen (in a negative way, I assume) as the "Quote of the Week" by some kid whose 20+ years younger than me, and all because I don't bow down and give all-time honours to one of his pre-birth boxing heroes, who he's probably only seen on a couple of occasions (IF that).

Yay! :rolleyes:

He kicked Hearns' ass in the ameteurs, and nobody can challenge him at any weight he fought at in his prime. NOBODY.

NOBODY? Are you sure about that?

Well for one, I have a prime version of Ike Williams beating the **** out of a prime Aaron Pryor, whether it be at 135 (seeing as Pryor was always thought of as a natural lightweight) or 140.

Shall we discuss?

great boxer, had chin, power and stamina to be the greatest no doubt. but when he faught arguello and his trainer let him drink from a "black bottle" what do you guys think it was?. even though he beat arguello worse rematch without bottle i still think its something in that bottle.

but when he faught arguello and his trainer let him drink from a "black bottle" what do you guys think it was?

Everybody has an opinion on what they "think" was in that bottle, but nobody truly knows for sure. But the comment made by P. Lewis ("The one I mixed"), plus Lewis' other shady actions (removing Luis Resto's padding against Billy Collins), and the way Pryor seemed to come out for the next round like he had a ****ing fire under his ass, does make one very suspicious of some kind of stimulant being taken by Pryor in that fight.

Everybody has an opinion on what they "think" was in that bottle, but nobody truly knows for sure. But the comment made by P. Lewis ("The one I mixed"), plus Lewis' other shady actions (removing Luis Resto's padding against Billy Collins), and the way Pryor seemed to come out for the next round like he had a ****ing fire under his ass, does make one very suspicious of some kind of stimulant being taken by Pryor in that fight.

yeah it must be some kind of stimulant, if it was what can it was?.

once i read pryor want to fight ray mancini and be the first boxer to win him.but arguello dit it. that fact deeply depressed pryor and he burst into tears.he wanna to be appreciated as his were. i like pryor.
his natural offence&defence is just genious one.wanted to realize vs,leonare,hearnd and mancini.

i think ray beats pryor, his style is all wrong for him... pryor would of had a better chance against hearns...

how bout pryor vs duran? what a fight that would have been....

yeah it must be some kind of stimulant, if it was what can it was?.

It was schnappes!! So u dont diarrhea? Now that's what it was..
They tested em

It was schnappes!! So u dont diarrhea? Now that's what it was..
They tested em

sure?, did it make him perform better?. i mean when i went out that round it was like his first round a lot of energi even though i dont think he need it.

Pryor probably takes a worse beating against Duran than if he fought Leonard or Hearns, imo. Though he could box like a dream, Duran wouldn't mind going into the trenches and slugging it out in a war. However, the difference between the skill level of these two fighter is simply huge in Duran's favor. Roberto doesn't just come in swinging. He's tenacious, but controlled; ferocious, yet still textbook.

The X-factor in this matchup, imo, is Duran's vastly superior defense. He was rarely hit cleanly at his best. To me, he's the best defensive (and offensive) infighter of all-time. Pryor will be throwing every punch in the book, but Duran slips and counters nearly everything.

Duran by late stoppage.

My take on Aaron Pryor is that he was a great fighter, a warrior who wore his opponents down and overwhelmed them!!!! My only problem is................ He had Panama Lewis in his corner who should be sitting in a cell with Luis Resto for attempted manslaughter! We have no idea how many times Pryor was given "THE MIXTURE" for fights! Against Arguello he appeared to feel no pain! He was a great fighter, but I am not convinced that he could have climbed divisions and beat some of the bigger greats!

Aaron was an extraodinary fighter at 140, and probably would've beaten the likes of Mancini and Kenty had they fought him. But him beating Leonard, Hearns, and a few others at 147...NO Way!!!!!

Aaron Pryor is one of my boxing heroes, alongside of Manny Pacquiao and Prince Naseem Hamed. He was simply a man who would not be denied. I e-mailed The Hawk and he sent me back an e-mail with some inspiring messages in it. He really is one of the most underrated fighters in boxing history.

What are your thoughts on Aaron Pryor, what would have happened if he never got his coke addiction, I really wanted to see him fight Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns..

He did beat Thomas Hearns as a amateur, but i wish they fought again as a pro cuz thats when hearns was hot, and ****in leonard ducked him!

Aaron Pryor is on my top 3 favorite fights of all time, i got him. thomas hearns, and marvin hagler on that list, no particular order

I think he could've accomplished a lot in his career
He had a very cool additude to
He had all this guys around him, he would yell "what time is it!?" they would yell "hawk time"

He was a scary guy to be fighting to, and i love his style and the way he fights, he has maybe one of the biggest hearts i've ever seen in a fighter


...I hated that ****in crack head because he whiped Alexis Arguello. I never saw a guy take so many hard shots to his head and not be effected by them. The only thing I can figure is that he didn't have enough brains up there to scramble em up when he got drilled by Alexis. I do think that Pryor was an animal though and he would have beaten Hearns or Leonard under the right circumstances.

Great topic man. Excellent. I would like to say that He is one of my all time favorite fighters as well. This guy was a ridiculous fighter, just a machine...plain and simple. Especially in his prime. The only way for someone to beat him, was to knock him out. There was no way to simply outpoint him, because he was very quick. People rarely talk about his speed in the ring. He was lighting fast, and would simply bum rush opponents and attack them. He is one of the most Ruthless fighters I have ever seen as well.

His knockout of Cervantes was awesome. Successions of power punches would lead to the doom of virtually everyone he ever faced in his entire career. I am still in shock that his only loss was To Bobby Joe Young, a fighter whom I though he would beat if they faced again. Of course, his demolishing of Arguello 2 times is the most notable, but this guy had plenty of fights.

I also belive Ray Leonard moved Up to avoid him. There was no denying that>

He kicked Hearns' ass in the ameteurs, and nobody can challenge him at any weight he fought at in his prime. NOBODY.

If Bobby turned out the way he should have, Aaron would have gotten a worse beating.

I made this thread a LONG time ago...

Learned a lot since then..

Lol yogi just believes the hype of how many hall of famers amrstrong beat. You do realize that the standards of making the hall of fame in the 1930's was much lower. Pryor did enough to be an all time great, he was on top for a good 5 years. Pryor is one of the greats, then again yogi bashes spinks, so why the hell would i take him seriously.

Pryor = Bad Ass Muther ****er! :boxing:

one of my favorite fighter ever! if guys fought like pryor boxing would be the most popular sport all over the world, without a doubt.

his loss was bull**** too, coming out of retirement after a 3 year crack filled layoff, then to be elbowed, and then counted out after taking a knee, although he was hurt but leading up to him going down he was fouled a few times if i remeber correct, i haven't seen that fight in a long time, but from what i remember it was crap.

one **** up! had that not have happend pryor would've been undefeated. **** he retired an undefeated champ, to bad for the first come back fight. but he won the fights after that so he's still the man.

one of my favorite fighter ever! if guys fought like pryor boxing would be the most popular sport all over the world, without a doubt.

his loss was bull**** too, coming out of retirement after a 3 year crack filled layoff, then to be elbowed, and then counted out after taking a knee, although he was hurt but leading up to him going down he was fouled a few times if i remeber correct, i haven't seen that fight in a long time, but from what i remember it was crap.

one **** up! had that not have happend pryor would've been undefeated. **** he retired an undefeated champ, to bad for the first come back fight. but he won the fights after that so he's still the man.

Plus he was pretty much blind in 1 eye!

True, Arguello was still a very formidable opponent when Pryor stepped into the ring with him, and was even ranked very highly in the p4p rankings (along with being a 2 to 1 favourite to beat Pryor). But it's comments like these that make me think Pryor was overated; "Leonard ducked Pryor" or "Pryor was the closest thing to Henry Armstrong" or "Pryor would beat Hearns like he did in the amatuers".

First off, why on earth would Leonard be scared of Aaron Pryor, when he showed no qualms about getting into the ring with the much more dangerous and ALOT more highly regarded, Thomas Hearns? When Leonard faced Hearns, he was not only facing a fighter who showed very impressive skill and knockout POWER, but who was also thought of as the number one p4p fighter in the sport (Aug 1981 poll of boxing experts listed Hearns at the very top). Of course, Leonard suffered a detached retina in that fight (or was it in training for the Finch fight), which forced him to retire for the first time. Now, at the time Leonard retired, Pryor wasn't even thought of as much of a threat to a former featherweight (hence the odds on that fight), and that retirement was announced about a week before the first Pryor/Arguello fight (the public most wanted a Hagler/Leonard fight or at least Leonard/Hearns rematch)...Pryor called out a recently retired man after that first fight with the 'Thin Man', and before that Aaron was NOT considered one of the best fighters, nor was he financially rewarding fight for Leonard. Leonard had bigger fish to fry, as evident by his later challenge of Hagler!

Besides some style similiarities between Pryor and Henry Armstrong, where's the comparision? In his career, Henry Armstrong won at least a dozen fights against HOF'ers and won titles in three of the original eight weight divisions (of course, at the same time). And I believe he still holds the record for most title defenses in welterweight history, does he not?

Pryor? Three wins over HOF'ers and a reign at one of these JR. divisions. Like I said, even though he wasn't at his best weight, Arguello is a nice notch to have on anybody's record. But Cervantes was definately on his last legs when he entered the ring against Pryor, and in one of his last title defenses, looked very, very un-Cervantes-like against the Korean novice, who could've very well been given the decision in that fight with 'Kid Pambele'. The Cervantes that Pryor beat was a HOF'er in name only, and was no where near the fighter he was earlier in his career.

So Pryor beat Arguello, so what? So did Vilomar Fernandez, who beat a younger version of Arguello who was also closer to his prime fighting weight.

And Pryor beating Hearns as an amatuer is MEANINGLESS in discussing how they'd do against each other as pros. That fight was a 20 year-old man facing and beating a very skinny 16 or 17 year old boy. I suppose if we give that victory by Pryor weight, we should do the same with Henry Tillman's victory over a teenager by the name of Mike Tyson...Oh wait.

Listen, Aaron Pryor was a very good fighter (maybe even great), who was very exciting to watch. And his first fight with Arguello is always going to be amongst my favourite fights to watch. But an all-time great? I don't see it. Especially when I grew up watching the guy's career unfold in real time, and at that time, he wasn't nearly held in as high regard as some of the other great fighters of that era (Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler etc.). But it seems revisionists wants to proclaim him on that level because he was tremendously exciting and had an all-time classic fight or two.

Good post.

He did enough in his career, dont listen to what yogi says. I never hear yogi call an old school fighter "overrated", why not yogi, you cant diss them in any way. He's just a typical arm chair warrior that bashes modern fighters, dont listen to this guy. Besides ross and ambers, who did armstrong really beat that was a truly elite fighter? Yeah thats what i thought pal. Back then people just got into the hall of fame, if they were a title holder. Baer is a hall of famer, does that mean he is elite, **** no he isnt.

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Seen that a few times now but its still ace! K for u! The best bit is when he gets droped and jumps back up swinging! FIGHTER!