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

[deuce_drop]

just to chime in....PRYOR would have busted up Leonard!!!! from pillar to post....Leonard in the amateurs moved up in weight to avoid fighting Pryor, and if you have seen any of Pryors amateur fights or even his sparring, his style and aggression never changed, ever!! he was full force all the time, and no one wanted anything to do with him. casue even if anyone was to beat him, it wasn't going to be easy, it would take some years off their life, and would have been painful...Pryors only loss was after a 3 year layoff filled with personal and drug problems, and he was knocked down with a elbow to the temple....he got up quick and then took a knee and the ref waived it off...he could have made it and won and gone undefeated, but it didn't happen. but he would have still beat Leonard and Hearns easily.... the man was denied due to circumstance and that played a major role in his career, in him not getting big fights with big names...sad but true....everything now is speculation, but anyone who watches his fights and knows boxing, knows that Pryor was one of the best ever to lace up the gloves.......also there wont be another fighter like Pryor in a long long time......there just aren't fighters like that anymore....most of the fighters today are converts from other sports who think cause they are athletic they can fight.......fighter are born....not made!!!! the Hawk was a true fighter!!!! a dying breed!!! damn near untouchable as far as i'm concerned!!

[jabsRstiff]

just to chime in....PRYOR would have busted up Leonard!!!! from pillar to post....Leonard in the amateurs moved up in weight to avoid fighting Pryor, and if you have seen any of Pryors amateur fights or even his sparring, his style and aggression never changed, ever!! he was full force all the time, and no one wanted anything to do with him. casue even if anyone was to beat him, it wasn't going to be easy, it would take some years off their life, and would have been painful...Pryors only loss was after a 3 year layoff filled with personal and drug problems, and he was knocked down with a elbow to the temple....he got up quick and then took a knee and the ref waived it off...he could have made it and won and gone undefeated, but it didn't happen. but he would have still beat Leonard and Hearns easily.... the man was denied due to circumstance and that played a major role in his career, in him not getting big fights with big names...sad but true....everything now is speculation, but anyone who watches his fights and knows boxing, knows that Pryor was one of the best ever to lace up the gloves.......also there wont be another fighter like Pryor in a long long time......there just aren't fighters like that anymore....most of the fighters today are converts from other sports who think cause they are athletic they can fight.......fighter are born....not made!!!! the Hawk was a true fighter!!!! a dying breed!!! damn near untouchable as far as i'm concerned!!

Took Pryor 14 rounds, & a lot of hell, to KO Arguello.

Arguello was NEVER as good a fighter as Ray Leonard, no matter what you'd like to believe.
He was also quite past his prime, in his age & his weight, when he fought Pryor.

Put it this way.....If Arguello's true prime was 140.....if that's where he peaked time & size-wise....he'd have KILLED Pryor. Yes, killed him.

[Shaolin Bushido]

Took Pryor 14 rounds, & a lot of hell, to KO Arguello.

Arguello was NEVER as good a fighter as Ray Leonard, no matter what you'd like to believe.
He was also quite past his prime, in his age & his weight, when he fought Pryor.

Put it this way.....If Arguello's true prime was 140.....if that's where he peaked time & size-wise....he'd have KILLED Pryor. Yes, killed him.

Arguello's prime was well below 140 and the 1980's.

[jabsRstiff]

Arguello's prime was well below 140 and the 1980's.

Exactly my point.

& what I'm getting at....is this guy (Pryor), who's biggest win was over this past-his-best great (Arguello), is supposed to GO UP in weight & KO one of the best fighters of all time ? Absurd.

[oldgringo]

Ray Leonard would have knocked Alexis Arguello out within three rounds.
Pryor needed 14 rds, & then 10 rounds, to turn the trick(s).

I guess Pryor could have outboxed Ray Leonard ? Not on this planet.

As for Ray avoiding Pryor ? LMAO !

Ray Leonard fought Tommy Hearns & Marvin Hagler.....but was afraid of PRYOR ?

I seriously think most of you are getting your **** second-handed. Those who were following boxing during that time period......know you youngins have bought into a MYTH that just sounds really good today.

Did you guys see Pryor struggling with the likes of Miguel Montilla, DuJuan Johnson, Akio Kameda, Nick Furlano, Gary Hinton ?

Ray Leonard would have knocked them all out in two rounds, all in the same night.

My thoughts exactly...

He'll fight Hagler but is too scared to fight Pryor? hmmm...

Any form of Hagler is scarier than Pryor...Ray would have beaten Pryor quite soundly.

[Floydmayweather]

I see there are some good points for Leonard but i still say Pryor would catch him.

[jabsRstiff]

I see there are some good points for Leonard but i still say Pryor would catch him.

Pryor never was a one-punch KO artist at 140.....but he'd take out ray Leonard at 147 ?
Hearns, Hagler, Duran, & Terry Norris couldn't KO Leonard....but the 140 lb Pryor could ?
I must say....sounds like Aaron Pryor is the single greatest fighter who has ever lived.

[deuce_drop]

Pryor never was a one-punch KO artist at 140.....but he'd take out ray Leonard at 147 ?
Hearns, Hagler, Duran, & Terry Norris couldn't KO Leonard....but the 140 lb Pryor could ?
I must say....sounds like Aaron Pryor is the single greatest fighter who has ever lived.

none of those guys had the same punch output as Pryor, and his abillity to take a punch would make other fighters weary of their power. the man was not intimidated by anyone, and wore out everyone. and like i said, that even if someone were to beat him it wasn't going to be easy and i'm damn sure they wouldn't want a rematch, do to the fact that, even a win would (physically) feel like a loss.....either way we could argue till the cows came home..... i think he was one of the greatest fighters ever...not the single greatest fighter ever.... the deuce has dropped.....ker splat!

[joe kurtz]

I must say, these rabid Pryor fans that are coming out of the woodwork are begining to sound downright delusional. They are honestly incapable of reason on this subject.
No matter what facts are thrown at them they respond with generalized bull**** or baseless accusations in counterpoint.
Case in point, this nonsense about Leonard moving up in weight to avoid Pryor as an amateur. Nonsense. Leonard may have competed at 132 at some point early in his amateur career, but his plethoa of titles & honors in the Golden Gloves, the AAU Nationals, International competetion & the Olympics all came at 139 lbs.
DAMN, that's a helluva lot of accomplishments supposedly done just to avoid one fighter!

If, infact, Pryor was so fearsome that a win over Leonard was a "sure thing", then why didn't he compete at 139 & try for Leonard's spot at the Olympic trials?
Instead, he remained at his natural weight & met & was beaten by Howard Davis Jr.. A smaller fighter than Ray Leonard who was physically not nearly as strong, had little power & possessed a dodgey chin. Yet he still managed to beat Pryor. Yet, Leonard wouldn't have had a chance against him?

Onto the pros...
I never said that Pryor's chin was rubbish.
And, yes , a couple of his knockdowns ( Cervantes & Akio Kameda particularly ) were of the flash variety & he wasn't hurt by them. But, once again , Dujaun Johnson DID hurt him. And there were other occasions in which Pryor wasn't dropped, but was rocked or stunned.

[dansweeney]

pryor tko in 13, with 2 of the 3 scorecards in leonards favor, pryor comes out swinging and takes 5 of the first 6, leonard comes on from rounds 7 thru 11, pryor wears him down in the 12th and finishes him in the 13th