Aaron Pryor is very undderated

Most seem to rate him fairly, I think. I agree with your assessment of him.

 

I think he gets rated right (maybe even overrated a bit because of the Legendary Nights show). Would have enjoyed him v Benitez or Duran, but I don't see him giving Hearns, Leonard, or Hagler any problems.

 

he was a great boxer/puncher with excellent stamina, could leave himself open with his aggression but came out on top.....The only fighter that would beat him at 140 were Duran and the only fighters that may beat him were Chavez and Floyd but I may lean with Aaron, one thing these fights would be competitive and action packed

 

I would say he's not as well known as the fab four that also fought during his era. But not underated in terms of talent. People know what they saw from those 2 Arguello fights - greatness. I recall SRL commenting on one of his fights saying he had the utmost respect for his talent and also called him one of the greatest finishers he had ever seen. I have the Hawk as the greatest 140lber ever. He could do it all. A bigger version of Henry Armstrong (perpetual motion) who could also move, he could stick that jab and glide around the ring but he preferred to put on a show (take some notes Mayweather). I see him out brawling and outboxing JCC and blowing Mayweather out in the championship rounds. The Hawk was so light on his fight and wont let Mayweather admire his work - all wrong for Floyd. Tzyu gets Koed late as well in a crazy barnburner. Duran vs Pryor is a coin flip. No disrepect to all those legends but Pryor was elite among the elite. I have Pryor as in my top 3 pressure fighters of all time. The Dujuan Johnson fight is so much fun to watch.

 

After beating Arguello he should have been groomed for s****om which ought to have followed.
Sadly for him the stars never lined up quite right.
What an engine the guy had. What a chin.

 

No he's not.

He's rated fairly for the most part, as one of the top 140 lb fighters ever.

In fact, The Ring overrated him big-time on their 2002 list on the 80 greatest fighters of the last 80 years. They had him in the 40s...30 spots ahead of Tommy Hearns!! Ridiculous.

All that stuff about him being so ducked is overblown anyway, largely because of HBO's revisionist history. Not only did he campaign in a different division, but Pryor turned down career high paydays against both Leonard and Duran. He also had an offer to unify against Mamby, but it didn't happen because his wife shot him.

He could have reigned longer at 140 without the drug addiction, but his high-action, perpetual motion style is a difficult one and usually not one for longevity. Not really sure whom at 140 or 135 moving up could have really boosted his legacy in the mid 80s if his prime lasted longer. Moving up to WW would have been tough, he was a little small for WW and a really strong division in the 80s. Even after Leonard/Duran/Hearns/Benitez moved up, WW was a pretty underrated division.

 

After Arguello he was done, his life had fallen apart. How he managed to get through the rematch, I do not know.

 

There's a great book about him called 'Flight of the Hawk'. Yeah, he unfortunately let his out of the ring behavior wreck his career. I think he was too small for Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, etc.. I think 140 was the right weight for him. He was only about 5'6", I think.

 

Don't buy into that **** about Leonard ducking him. Isn't true. Leonard had nothing to fear from him. Far too big for Pryor. Of course, had they fought his detractors would have whined incessantly about him picking on smaller fighters. :roll:

 

Pryor/Leonard was never a realistic possibility. Their development, schedules and weight divisions did not come in sync.

 

Leonard-Pryor was mentioned right after Leonard beat Hearns. In fact, I think it was Leonard who mentioned it.

 

Pryor had a $500,000 offer to fight Leonard but turned it down because he wanted more.

Maybe there was more to it but this is what Pryor said in the post-fight interview after he beat Lennox Blackmoore.

 

Leonard also mentioned fighting Tyson after the Hagler bout...

The truth is Leonard was one and done at Welterweight after the Hearns fight. Pryor would not even step up to 147 until it was way, way too late, for both Leonard, and indeed, his career.