Prime Antonio Cervantes vs Aaron Pryor

[Steak]

heres their fight



but Cervantes wasnt quite prime at this point. at least 34 years old(theres dispute about his age), and had lost a step since his prime, which I think was around eh 1974 or 1975(5 or 6 years before the real fight took place).

who do you think would have won if that version of Cervantes fought Pryor? Cervantes did knock down Pryor and fight pretty well early on.

[Ch@mpBox@PR]

At 17 Years old and 13 foghts prior to that Benitez schooled his ass in PR!!!!!!!!

[Snuff Armstrong]

At 17 Years old and 13 foghts prior to that Benitez schooled his ass in PR!!!!!!!!

I remember that oh so vividly.

[The Gambler1981]

Pryor could be outboxed but that is easier said then done. Pryor was jsut one of those guys that always goes down early from time to time like Tito or Joe Calzaghe but he always bounced back. It would be an interesting fight as it would probably be the best guy that Pryor would have fought.

A 50/50 fight for sure.

[AntonTheMeh]

i don't know black.you're kinda asking this question in the wrong section.not alot of cats know about cervantes, including myself.perhaps a younger version would have come out the victor, but i think pryor would take it regardless.

[Steak]

At 17 Years old and 13 foghts prior to that Benitez schooled his ass in PR!!!!!!!!

thanks for the unrelated info, but yea, what was so impressive about what Benitez did was not him winning a title at 17 years old...ok yea, well it is impressive, even today with like 7 belts no one is even coming close to winning a title that young....but winning that title agaisnt the true best in the division, who also happens to be one of the best ever at 140lbs.

crazy stuff. I havent watched the whole fight yet, but I dont remember Benitez quite 'schooling' him. Cervantes' style was just made to order for someone as naturally skilled as Benitez.

[Ch@mpBox@PR]

thanks for the unrelated info, but yea, what was so impressive about what Benitez did was not him winning a title at 17 years old...ok yea, well it is impressive, even today with like 7 belts no one is even coming close to winning a title that young....but winning that title agaisnt the true best in the division, who also happens to be one of the best ever at 140lbs.

crazy stuff. I havent watched the whole fight yet, but I dont remember Benitez quite 'schooling' him. Cervantes' style was just made to order for someone as naturally skilled as Benitez.

I totally agree with that!!!!!!!


Benitez the score cards doesnt show how Benitez schooled him, I had it 9-6 in rounds, but the rounds Benitez won were domination, Cervantes had 3 or 4 rounds that he look he was in the fight, but he fell in the end.

Nontheless a great fight!!!!!!

[TheGreatA]

It would be more competitive for sure. There were already rumours about Cervantes slipping by the time he fought Benitez and that was more than 4 years previously.

He was still holding onto the title when he faced Pryor but in truth most top fighters would have beaten him at that point.

In his prime Cervantes was a solid boxer with a very dependable chin who carried a lot of power in his counter punches.

[Snuff Armstrong]

I still dont think Cervantes would have been able to overcome the likes of Pryor. I remember when they were first matched I was so hyped about the fight even though it came way after Cervantes prime. It was one of the few fights I had always wondered about and wished for that actually came off, even if it did come years later. Along with Eusebio Pedroza and Salvador Sanchez. I always wished for that fight to happen to. Unfortunately, we all know it never did.

[Steak]

I totally agree with that!!!!!!!


Benitez the score cards doesnt show how Benitez schooled him, I had it 9-6 in rounds, but the rounds Benitez won were domination, Cervantes had 3 or 4 rounds that he look he was in the fight, but he fell in the end.

Nontheless a great fight!!!!!!

lol, beating Cervantes at all is a hell of an accomplishment, and taking into account how well Benitez did it and the fact that he was only 17 is really just mind boggling.
We will never, ever see another Benitez...



GreatA/TheManchine, do you know if there was any fact behind the rumors that Cervantes was 6 or so years older than he was listed as? Ive heard that a few times.