Pryor-Leonard - The match that failed to happen..

[SnoopySmurf]

I pick Pryor by late KO. Pryor could take the best punche and hit you back with 10 harder punches from all angles. Didn't Pryor beat Hears in the amateurs? I can't recall. He may be small and that may be a problem for most fighters but Pryor was like a pitbull. No one would ever get enough distance on him coz Aaron knew the game of cutting off the ring too well, despite his smaller size. He was also faster than Ray.

Ray used his boxing sense to beat his opponent on his terms. When he took on an aging Hagler, he fought him on his terms: got a bigger ring, picked 12 rounds instead of 15 knowing that Hagler's power punches did not get any less lethal.

[jabsRstiff]

At 147....Thomas Hearns may have been the most lethal offensive machine in boxing history.
Did he KO Leonard ? No ?
Did he hit leonard ? He must have.....he was ahead on points.

Yet......Aaron Pryor.....all 140 lbs of him....was gonna stop Ray Leonard ?

I cannot believe what I'm reading.

[jabsRstiff]

"He was also faster than Ray. "

Perhaps one of the dumbest things I've ever read.

[SacTown1]

"He was also faster than Ray. "

Perhaps one of the dumbest things I've ever read.

actually, he was quite a bit faster than Ray IMO, Ray was stronger but nobody could keep up with the Hawk's hand-speed

[legend]

actually, he was quite a bit faster than Ray IMO, Ray was stronger but nobody could keep up with the Hawk's hand-speed

This would be a fight that nobody could really predict. There's just too many variables you would have to consider. The main variable being would Sugar Ray run or go toe-to-toe. Or will Pryor come at Ray or try to outbox him. You just never know. If I had to make an educated guess considering Sugar Ray's past fights I'd have to say he would run around the ring and try to steal rounds with flurries. It would be on Pryor's shoulders to chase him around and prevent this. If he can keep up that I would give him a late-round TKO or possibly a decision. Pryor called Sugar Ray out in front of everybody and it would have been a big money fight. There must be some reason he didn't want to fight him. Maybe he remembered those sparring sessions and while Sugar Ray might not have been sparring like it was a real fight, who's to say Pryor was being all serious either.

[gravity62]

actually, he was quite a bit faster than Ray IMO, Ray was stronger but nobody could keep up with the Hawk's hand-speed

Pryor was NOT faster than Ray. Leonard had the much faster hands and feet. Ray was known as one of the fastest punching fighters in history and Pryor wasn't for a reason. Sure, Pryor had fast hands, but he was no where near as fast as Leonard at his fastest. I'm surprized at some of you guy's comments.

[gravity62]

This would be a fight that nobody could really predict. There's just too many variables you would have to consider. The main variable being would Sugar Ray run or go toe-to-toe. Or will Pryor come at Ray or try to outbox him. You just never know. If I had to make an educated guess considering Sugar Ray's past fights I'd have to say he would run around the ring and try to steal rounds with flurries. It would be on Pryor's shoulders to chase him around and prevent this. If he can keep up that I would give him a late-round TKO or possibly a decision. Pryor called Sugar Ray out in front of everybody and it would have been a big money fight. There must be some reason he didn't want to fight him. Maybe he remembered those sparring sessions and while Sugar Ray might not have been sparring like it was a real fight, who's to say Pryor was being all serious
either.

Why couldn't you predict who whould win this fight? You just just pick one guy or the other, it's not that hard. Actually, if you look at Ray's history at welterweight, Ray went toe-to-toe with the smaller guys he faced like Duran and Benitez, instead of moving and boxing , or "run" as you said (which worked well against slow ploders but whouldn't work against Pryor because he had good speed and was very aggressive a la Frazier vs Ali).

Pryor, having somthing to proove like in the Arguello fight, whould go all out just as he was known for doing. I don't think he would try to outbox Leonard, he whould try and crowd him with endless punches. The fight whould've turned out to be an all out war, with Leonard getting the better because of his size, power and overall speed.

[legend]

Why couldn't you predict who whould win this fight? You just just pick one guy or the other, it's not that hard. Accually, if you look at Ray's history at welterweight, Ray went toe-to-toe with the smaller guys he faced like Duran and Benitez, instead of moving and boxing, or "run" as you said.

Pryor, having somthing to proove like in the Arguello fight, whould go all out just as he was known for doing. I don't think he would try to outbox Leonard, he whould try and crowd him with punches. The fight whould've turned out to be an all out war, with Leonard getting the better with his size, power and overall speed.

Maybe you didn't read all of my post. I predicted Pryor would win if he could keep up with Leanord's foot movement. I also don't predict fights based on size, especially at lower weight classes. I don't know what Pryor you have watched, but to say Sugar Ray's power is superior is just speculation. He may have hurt Hearns, but Hearns couldn't take much of a punch or else his legs went to oatmeal.

[gravity62]

Size is usually the, or one of the main factors when predicting the outcome of a fight. You take away the size factor and it's very hard predicting fights. For example a heavyweight should have no problem with a flyweight. In boxing any advantage in size or weight matters, especially in the lower weight divisions, so your logic is kind of backwards.

I think what made leonard more powerful than Pryor was his sharpness and accuracy. Pryor wasn't really accurate, but he did throw punches from all angles and had power at 140.

[legend]

Size is usually the, or one of the main factors when predicting the outcome of a fight. You take away the size factor and it's very hard predicting fights. For example a heavyweight should have no problem with a flyweight. In boxing any advantage in size or weight matters, especially in the lower weight divisions, so your logic is kind of backwards.

I think what made leonard more powerful than Pryor was his sharpness and accuracy. Pryor wasn't really accurate, but he did throw punches from all angles and had power at 140.

Size does matter, I'm not debating that. But to say that it is a significant basis for prediction is inaccurate. If size mattered that much, Leonard would have lost to Hearns and Hagler according to your "logic". Also look at Duran: He was undersized most of his fights being he is a natural lightweight and he still kicked ass. My point was more geared towards heavyweights in that a fighter like Vitali Klitchsko would be easier to judge in a fight based on his size. He is too big basically for any heavyweight and this gives him an immediate advantage. Fighters at lower weight classes tend to rely more on their skills and not their size. Although Sugar Ray had more boxing skills than Pryor, it is purely speculative as to who had more power. All I know is that Ray refused his challenge for some reason, called his ass out in front of everyone and the look on Ray's face said "I don't want any part of this ****er".