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Pryor's Bad Luck
The greatest
Junior Welterweight Boxing champion of all time is Aaron Pryor. From Cincinnati, Ohio Aaron Pryor fought in 2 weight divisions,
as a Lightweight and a junior welterweight. Aaron Pryor was pound for pound one of the greatest boxing champions. He fought
like the great Henry Armstrong of 1938, like a hurricane or whirlwind. The moment the bell sounded, Pryor charged his opponent
and began a relentless assault that put the other fighter either on the defensive or on his back. Pryor had one of the greatest
chins of all time.
Aaron Pryor had more versatility than Henry Armstong. Armstrong didn’t have a reverse gear,
and he was seemingly programmed not to take a backward step. Aaron Pryor could change his fighting style and box his opponent.
Pryor, nicknamed The Hawk, hammered away at opponents in frenetic, three-minute bursts. As an amateur, he won all but
16 of 220 fights, 50 of which didn't last beyond the first round. Aaron Pryor participated in the 1976 Olympic games at Montreal
as an alternate. That was the same Olympic Team that produced gold medals by Sugar Ray Leonard, the Spinks brothers (Michael
and Leon), and Howard Davis Jr. Howard Davis was considered the best Amateur of the Gold medal winners. Pryor lost 2 controversial
close decisions to Howard Davis in the Olympic Box offs. According to some Amateur Boxing Federation officials Aaron Pryor
actually beat Howard Davis but U.S. Olympic Officials did not want Aaron Pryor to represent the U.S. at the Olympics.
Rollie
Schwartz, the Olympic boxing coach: “Aaron really won both of those
I
saw that second fight and anyone could see that Aaron was robbed
Many folks felt that Pryor should have gotten
the nod in the decision and represented the US.
Aaron Pryor turned professional on November 11, 1976, with a win
over Larry Smith. In 1978, Pryor won five fights, and in 1979 he won six. But during '79, Pryor experienced a rise in competition
level, and in his last fight that year, he was pitted for the first time ever against a former or future world champion, when
he faced former Jr. Welterweight champion of the world Alfonso Fraser, Peppermint, of Panama, who lasted five rounds with
The Hawk. After that fight, Pryor entered the WBA rankings.
In 1980 Aaron Pryor fought the great two time world champion
Antonio Cervantes of Colombia at Cincinnati for the WBA world junior welter-weight title. Pryor was dropped in round one,
but he rose and knocked out Cervantes in round four in front of a national television audience, becoming a world champion.
Aaron Pryor's 1981 all out war KO of the WBA number 2 rated undefeated power-punching Dujuan Johnson , out of the famous
Kronk Gym in Detroit, Michigan was chosen as Fight of the Year by "KO" magazine. This may have been Pryor's hardest
fight. Pryor rose from a knockdown to stop the Detroit banger in the seventh round. In round two Aaron Pryor threw 115 punches.
Aaron Pryor vs. Dujuan Johnson round
1
Aaron Pryor vs. Dujuan
Johnson round 2
Aaron Pryor
vs. Dujuan Johnson round 4
Aaron
Pryor vs. Dujuan Johnson round 7
In 1982 in what promoter Bob Arum nicknamed The Battle of The Champions, Pryor
defeated the great Alexis Arguello by a knockout in 14 in front of an HBO audience. The fight was named Fight Of The Year
and later the Fight Of The Decade by Ring Magazine. Aaron Pryor launched a busy attack that crumpled Arguello to the canvas
and left him semi-conscious for a full four minutes. The defeated Arguello collapsed yet again on the way to his dressing
room. He'd suffered a concussion and a cut under his eye that would require eight stitches. Pryor, with his prehistoric jaw
and uncommunicative demeanor, seemed hardly fazed, even though he'd absorbed punches that "would have decapitated most
people," as Arguello's agent said later.
The
brutal finish and after
The fight sparked controversy, however, because of allegations that Pryor's trainer had
introduced a bottle to revive him after round 12 so Pryor had to defend against Arguello again, this time winning by a knockout
in 10 rounds in Las Vegas on September 9, 1983. Pryor knocked Arguello down in the first, fouth, and 10th round. Pryor was
never knocked down by the hard hitting Arguello. There was no suspicious bottle in this fight, no Panama Lewis and Pryor was
drug tested before and after the fight. After the fight, Pryor announced his retirement. Pryor was 34-0 with 32 KOs. Aaron
Pryor won 26 fights in a row by knockout, one of the longest knockout streaks in the history of boxing. Pryor remained unbeaten
until 1987, by which time he was a full-fledged crack addict, and blind in one eye due to a detached retina and cataracts
in his left eye. Pryor was 2 months shy of his 32nd birthday and coming out of a two-year retirement/layoff.
Aaron Pryor's only loss vs. Bobby Joe Young 8/8/87
Bobby Joe
Young had a heralded amateur boxing career, losing two very controversial decisions to future pro champion Thomas Hearns in
both the Golden Gloves and National AAU welterweight finals. Many who saw those bouts thought Bobby Joe was the clear winner
or at least agree that Young gave Hearns terrific fights both times. As a Pro Bobby Joe Young was a hard-punching welterweight
contender in the mid to late '80s. Young never won a world title and was stopped by IBF welterweight champ Simon Brown in
round 2 on September 20, 1989. Recently Bobby Joe Young was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.
Pryor
went through some hard times due to drug addiction, but with the determination that made him a great fighter; “The Hawk"
kicked his habit and is once again flying high.
In the 1990s, Aaron Pryor decided to stay away from drugs; opened
a gym in his hometown where he helps kids learn boxing and get off the streets; and became a pastor. He is currently ministering
at a church in Cincinnati.
Any comments about Aaron Pryor or this website? Email
Me, let's talk about it....
Pryor has been honored with many awards, which include Ring Magazines 'Fighter of
Year' in 1982, WBA Champ 1980-1983, IBF Champ 1983-1985, and being Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in
1996 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. Pryor was also named greatest Jr. Welterweight of the Century by Sports Writers
Association of America in 1999. In 2002 Pryor was honored as a legend by the World Boxing Association. He retired with 39
wins, 1 loss and 35 wins by knockout.
Aaron Pryor was never beaten as a pro at 135 or 140 pounds (the Bobby Joe Young
loss was later on at Welterweight). Pryor was 23-0 (21 KOs) as a pro lighweight. Aaron Pryor was ranked number three in the
world as a lightweight, but he couldn’t get a title fight. Pryor was 11-0 (9 KOs) in championship fights at 140 lbs.
Pryor was undefeated as a professional from 1976 to 1987, over 10 years. Aaron Pryor's KO 4 Cervantes, KO 14 Arguello, and
KO 10 Arguello (at any stage of their careers) are MUCH better wins than any other junior-welterweight. Pryor beat Arguello
at a time when Arguello was polled pound for pound the best in Boxing (and there was many great fighters in 1982).
"If
you mix Joe Frazier with Ali and make it weigh 140 lbs., it would be Aaron Pryor" - Ken Hawk. Aaron Pryor could rake
an opponent over the coals against the ropes from myriad angles, but then get up on his toes and apply lateral movement while
sticking the jab.
"Pryor was unreal, I never saw a more hyped up guy. I'll bet that guy threw more punches a
round than any champion who ever lived" - From: "Potter Pirate" Newsgroups: rec.sport.boxing Subject: Re: Greatest
fighters of all time! Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002
Pryor's
childhood and amateur boxing career
According to boxing promoter and manager Butch Lewis, Ray Leonard moved up
in weight to get away from Aaron Pryor. Ray Leonard competed at Lightweight in 1972-1973 when Aaron Pryor was the Lightweight
champion. Ray Leonard moved up in weight to Light Welterweight. Sugar
Ray Leonard Amateur Achievements 1972 National Golden Gloves Lightweight champion 1973 National Golden Gloves Lightweight
champion, defeating Hilmer Kenty 1973 Runner-up in National AAU Light Welterweight championships, losing to Randy Shields
Aaron Pryor Amateur Achievements 1972 National
AAU Champion (132 lbs) - Outpointed Robert Newton of Boston 1976 US Olympic Alternate (132 lbs)
The great Sugar Ray Leonard
Pryor's early pro career lightweight
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When Aaron Pryor
(age 27) fought the great Alexis Arguello (age 30) the first time in November of 1982, Arguello was considered pound for pound
the greatest boxer. It was assumed at the time Alexis Arguello could defeat any Light-weight and since Pryor and Arguello
were both 2 blown-up lightweights most people thought Arguello would win. After Arguello knocked out Kevin Rooney with one
devastating right hand it was said by boxing expert Gil Clancy that ANYBODY Arguello hits with that right hand at 140 pounds
will go down no matter who they are.
Alexis Arguello's
one punch KO of Kevin ROONEY Jul-31-1982 140 lbs.
Here's a poll conducted by various boxing writers and experts
(15 in all) on who they thought were the best p4p fighters in boxing, which took place in July/August of '82 and was printed
in KO magazine;
1. Sugar Ray Leonard
2. ALEXIS ARGUELLO
3. Marvin Hagler
4. Salvador Sanchez
5. Wilfred Benitez
6. Larry Holmes
7. Jeff Chandler
8. Eusebio Pedroza
9. Aaron Pryor
10.
Thomas Hearns (tie)
10. Dwight Braxton
Since Leonard retired just before Pryor/Arguello, it's safe to assume
that those same writers would've considered Alex as the best in the sport at that exact time.
Motivation
for Pryor and Arguello
"The badder the guy was, the more Aaron wanted to stop him. You've got some guys
who wilt under pressure, but Aaron got stronger under pressure. And he would get to the point where he actually drooled --
he actually drooled at the mouth! That much animal instinct would come out of him. You could see the stuff, dripping from
his mouthpiece." - Jackie Shropshire, a former trainer of Pryor's, and the boxing coach at the Emanuel Center gym.
Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Arguello I 1/5
Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Arguello I 5/5
tell
a friend
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Aaron
Pryor was favored to win a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics but lost 2 close controversial decisions to Howard Davis Jr. Pryor
was the 1976 National Golden Gloves Lightweight champion beating Thomas Hearns. Pryor and Hearns fought at the Orange Bowl
in Miami, Florida, same place as the first Arguello fight was held. Fighting someone as tall as Thomas Hearns was a real test
of Pryor's ability. Hearns as a Pro became the first man in Boxing history to win 4 world titles in 4 different weight divisions
and the only man to KO Roberto Duran in the 1970s or 1980s.
Pryor also beat Hilmer Kenty who later as a Pro would
become World Lightweight champion. + = win, - = loss.
Click
to hear Pryor vs. James Hilmer Kenty U.S. 1976 Amatuers
1976: Golden Gloves Lightweight:
+ Gary
Hinton
+ Thomas Hearns points
1976: Olympic Trials Cincinnati Lightweight:
+ Hilmer
Kenty points
- Howard Davis points
1976: Olympic Box-Offs Burlington Lightweight:
- Howard Davis
points
Aaron Pryor vs. Thomas
Hearns trained by Emanuel Steward Round 1
Aaron
Pryor vs. Thomas Hearns finish
Thomas Hearns vs. Roberto Duran
Duran was the Nemesis of Hearns' conqueror
Sugar Ray Leonard. Roberto handed Ray his first defeat back in June of 1980.
Duran was a big name again based off
his title winning effort over WBA Junior Middleweight Champ Davey Moore and his showing against Hagler. Duran defeated champion
Moore by an eighth round TKO.
In his last fight before facing Hearns, Duran lost a close unanimous decision to undisputed
Middleweight Champ Marvin Hagler over 15 rounds. In fact Roberto Duran was at the time the only fighter to go the distance
with Hagler as Champion, something only Sugar Ray Leonard would accomplish four years after Duran. Duran was so competitive
with Hagler that he only lost by one point on two cards and two points on another. He was actually ahead on two of the three
cards after the 13th round.
Most figured that if Duran could hang tough for 15 rounds with Hagler, what could Hearns
do to him. On top of that, Hagler never shook Duran once over those 15 rounds. This gave those who were pulling for Duran
hope. The only problem with that theory was that Hearns hit much harder than Hagler did. Going the distance with Hagler was
certainly no guarantee that Duran could last the limit with "The Hitman" Hearns.
The
Hearns-Duran clash of June 15th 1984.
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