Mythical Match Up #1: Ray Leonard vs. Aaron Pryor (Spring, 1982)

[QueensburyRules]

Nah, everyone already knows you're a troll and boxing know nothing. I just like pointing it out because I know it p*sses you off!!

- - You bladder yourself. Time to change your Barney BigBoys...

[them_apples]

- - Just a reminder that nearing 50 George before he retired was never embarrassed and said what he said.

Originally posted by QueensburyRules View Post
- - No, George didn't want to make it publicly sound like he was crying over something he was long over with. He never said another word to Sadler again, cut him out completely, and was on the outs with Archie Moore until Moore convinced him he wasn't in on it.

George Plimpton saw it when I did, crying out it was a fixed fight. I said he was drugged, and this long before his By George bio came out that was the first time I heard that he'd been drugged. YOU are the embarrassment, a fool or a monkey with a keyboard.

It was a fixed fight with too many obvious fixes from the cut first day of sparring, being held hostage in a murderous country surrounded by armed soldiers in their barracks while Ali is sucking up to the murderous Mobutu in his presidential mansion.

Ali ducked the 10mil 50/50 purse split for the immediate rematch in Indonesia to go get beat up and crying for peanuts by Wepner in Ohio. Ali was the one who was never the same.

Box of Rocks gonna organize a protest over you giving them a bad name.�/div>

I really don’t want to think that fight was fixed. But I wouldn’t rule it out honestly. The true temperament of guys like Ali and the cronies he hung out with were certainly capable of trying to pull something like that off. In all his books they constantly talks about seedy men that would offer dirty dealings. One shady dude was offering something you could rub in the eyes, some cases a razor blade hidden in the glove and even drugs to sedate a fighter. It didn’t always happen, but historically it has. They won’t ever come out and say “oh I cheated” but in a roundabout way they tell us anyways. It’s like Ray talking about his ******* addiction of 10 years. He doesn’t mention him ever being high during a fight. However, logically he was probably high for at least half his career. Lets not forget SRL had the classic cokehead fighters career, they burned hot and short.

high chance that late round rally on Hearns was fuelled by nose candy

[Rspen46]

I hate to disagree & correct you on your own Post, you mention Aaron Pryor tried repeatedly to get the fight, partially true, yes he did Follow SRL around for months 1 year interrupting him at every interview he could calling him out & challenging him, so you are right there. But you leave out the part that Ray's people offered Pryor $500,000 for a fight, he turned it down, then he upped it to $750,000 turned it down, believing they would go to 1 million, but Ray said no & moved on & later fought Duran at WW. It was in all the Cincinnati News & Enquirer newspaper at the time. He should have accepted it, to date that was by far his biggest payday & in the crappiest division in boxing. He also received a $750,000 offer from Duran backed by Madison Square Gardens, as Duran was moving up to WW he wanted to add the JWW title on his way up, it had a time limit to reply on it for that reason, Pryor's people never responded at all & it expired, that's the fight, no Ray, Duran-Pryor for a handful of rounds could have been the greatest fight in history until Duran wiped the canvas with him. Pryor was the 3rd ranked LW in the world soon to get offers for the Title in a stacked LW division, when Wilfred Benitez left the JWW Title to move up to WW, then Pryor's people ran him as fast as they could to challenge an old Cervantes past his Prime, who had beaten a Bum to win the title back after Benitez left. Cervantes still put him down, in his Prime he beats him. Pryor wanted none of Benitez, or Duran & SRL, it was all show to him attention and money for smaller title fights.

[Rspen46]

Arguello (I) landed too many clean right hands on Pryor. Pryor took them OK from a former LW.

I doubt he stands up to the same clean right hands from he bigger Leonard.

Leonard by TKO inside of 9 rounds.

Well yes Arguello moved up from LW, a division he dominated, no one there could beat him, but he was at his best at JLW, 1 division lower where he was an All time great, maybe ranked easily top 3 at JLW All-Time, when he moved to LW it was clear he had very good power but not quite what he had at JLW, like Duran, at LW Duran was Powerful as he moved up he could still KO anyone at any given time, but not the very best as he did at LW, and Alexis definitely was a tad bit slower & not quite as quick at LW, as he moved up to JWW, that took a bit more of a toll on his skills, but still enough to be the best JWW in the World in the worst division in boxing, without the bottles in the corner and being on drugs himself, Arguello beats him, at LW bottle or no bottle I take Arguello, he had more at LW, by the 2nd fight, Pryor had drained every ounce of what he had left mentally, he was beat before he walked into the Ring, after that fight, Pryor did absolutely nothing, he was out of boxing soon, also don't forget at LW Arguello was 29, at JLW he was early 20's at JWW he was 30 makes a difference also. But the right hand the threw that knocked Aaron's head straight back so far it touched the back of his head to his back, Aaron just raised it up, laughed and continued on like he was a crazy person, he never felt it.

[Rspen46]

Didn't Pryor beat Leonard in the Ams?

That doesn't equate to victory for Pryor in the pros, but then again, some guys just always have anothers number.

Solid match up though.

..................Rockin'

No Pryor never beat SRL in the Amateurs, He would have lost, Howard Davis Jr. in the same Olympics he also won his division beat Aaron twice on the way to the Gold Medal, & he was not even close to Leonard who was smarter had more power & better defense, Davis was all speed, no power & could not take a big punch, yet beat Pryor Twice. He did beat Thomas Hearns Aaron was 21 ready to turn Pro & fully mature as a fighter, Hears was a 17 year old Skinny, very skinny HS Kid getting into boxing, with ZERO Power, he had yet to find the power that made him the Hitman, but even then he was an excellent boxer. So Pryor beat him, in the Pros, Hitman does to him what he did to Duran, Hearns was a full fledged WW and one of the greatest there of all time, Aaron had short arms, was short overall, could not take a big Punch, what he took against Arguello he was so High he felt nothing & he never fought another guy with Power, Cervantes was old past his Prime but still put him down, & Dujuan Johnson was the only other fighter with any power to speak of from the Kronk Gym, but nowhere as good as the rest of their guys. Also most don't know Sweet Saoul Mamby held the other half of the JWW Title while Pryor was Champ, he made 5 offers during his Reign that Pryor's camp turned down to unify the title, how can he be the greatest even in his own division when he would not unite the title. He beats Mamby of course, he had no power but at that time he was a hot undefeated streak and Won the Title and made several defenses, so he would have probably given Aaron his best fight outside of Arguello. He had a fight setup with Ray Boom Boom Mancini, then got hurt, but it was really drugs he was in the hospital for a month, by the time he came back months later & water Ray, it was too late, the Winner of their fight was had a deal to defend the LW Title Mancini held against Bramble, when Pryor took too long to return, Ray fought Bramble and lost, Bramble Pryor at that time would have been a good fight, he beats Bramble but it would have been better than the list of bums Pryor did fight.

[Rspen46]

Leonard would have destroye Pryor.

Different class of fighters.

Pryor was 100% clean for the 1st time in his career still young, I think around 30 or so when he fought Bobby Joe Young at best a decent Journeyman fighter at WW, Aaron got in some of the best shape of his Life, looked like the old Pryor, but without the drugs, the secret mixes in the bottles, he felt everything & Young put him away. At the least his comeback should have been at JWW or LW. So I agree 100% SRL destroys him but that's not the fight I would want to see at least not so high on my list, Duran vs. Pryor to me is the big one,

[QueensburyRules]

Well yes Arguello moved up from LW, a division he dominated, no one there could beat him, but he was at his best at JLW, 1 division lower where he was an All time great, maybe ranked easily top 3 at JLW All-Time, when he moved to LW it was clear he had very good power but not quite what he had at JLW, like Duran, at LW Duran was Powerful as he moved up he could still KO anyone at any given time, but not the very best as he did at LW, and Alexis definitely was a tad bit slower & not quite as quick at LW, as he moved up to JWW, that took a bit more of a toll on his skills, but still enough to be the best JWW in the World in the worst division in boxing, without the bottles in the corner and being on drugs himself, Arguello beats him, at LW bottle or no bottle I take Arguello, he had more at LW, by the 2nd fight, Pryor had drained every ounce of what he had left mentally, he was beat before he walked into the Ring, after that fight, Pryor did absolutely nothing, he was out of boxing soon, also don't forget at LW Arguello was 29, at JLW he was early 20's at JWW he was 30 makes a difference also. But the right hand the threw that knocked Aaron's head straight back so far it touched the back of his head to his back, Aaron just raised it up, laughed and continued on like he was a crazy person, he never felt it.

- - Pryor was a lightweight that whooped Tommy in the amas. His pro career was going nowhere when he moved up to 140 for his first title shot vs legendary Cervantes whom he KOed, purt fair for a kid.

No doubt Ray ducked Pryor, but later when Pryor was being disputed by two managers, Ray pulled a fast one to offer him a fight knowing Pryor could not legally fight until the dispute was settled.

[Anomalocaris]

Leonard stops him in eight.

Tommy shows him the vast difference between the amatures and pros and obliterates him in three.

If he thought Arguello's right was lethal Hearns would have deposited him into the Oort Cloud.

Duran mauls him in ten.

Overrated in my opinion.

I never liked the magic bottle.

At all.

[Willie Pep 229]

I have personal bias I can't get pass.

Pryor is a good example of my problem.

I can not abide a fighter who disrespects his opponent with arrogance. They are all warriors and should always show respect to their opponents.

Pryor was arrogant and mocking of his opponents

These fighters are on "my list" because I just can not respect them regardless of their talent . . . Pernell Whitaker another.

A friend of mine was a small investor in Teofimo Lopez. And while I always routed for Lopez, for my friend's sake, his behavior is another fighter that fills me with disgust.

I saw one of Pryor's last fights (Young) live and as wrong as I felt watching it I enjoyed watching him get stopped.

I just can't understand 'the why' of a disrespectful fighter.

I can understand the need for trash talk to build a gate. But once the fight starts that should be done.

Some fighters mock their opponents during and after the fight. That I will not respect.

SRL would have stopped Pryor just as he did Kalule.

P.S. Billy Joe Sanders is also on my list. I am glad he is gone.

[Anomalocaris]

I do find all the pre-fight antics and hype so tiring.

Especially at the weigh in.

It's a very rare thing today that both fighters behave with respect and class before a fight.