Aaron Pryor vs. Pernell Whitaker at 140

this is a very intriguing fight

you have the aggresion and swarming style of Pryor against the defensive boxing skills of Whittaker a classic match up.

One thats very hard to choose in.

 

This probably won't go down well with a few posters, least of all Sweet Pea, but I think Pryor is all wrong for Pernell.

Whitaker is obviously an elusive target. He proved this throughout his entire career, making fighters like Chavez, Nelson, among others, look very ordinary. There is a danger that he could do this to Pryor early on. Whitaker is undoubtedly the greater fighter, his resume is more impressive, and he displayed longevity that Pryor could only dream of. This is all irrelevant though.

Aaron Pryor displayed unbelievable resilience in his fight with Alexis Arguello. He took his best shots, and kept on coming. He never appeared to be strained by stamina issues, despite all of the rounds maintaining a ridiculously high pace from the opening bell. On the offensive, he landed a high percentage of his shots, whilst throwing a lot of punches, and he even displayed some nice Boxing ability half way through. He closed the show.

Do I think Whitaker's style could nullify Pryor's aggression? No. I feel Pryor is too strong, I think he gets inside on Pea very quickly, and he'll miss 4-5, and probably land something close to that in the process. Even in the event Pea does a good enough job of slipping and countering to make a case for a victory on the cards, history has shown that judges don't go for that. He was robbed on numerous occasions in fights he appeared to have won fairly comfortably.

Some may say Whitaker completely outboxed Chavez, who has a similar style to Pryor, but I don't see it that way. Chavez was super effective at what he did, but he didn't have the speed of hand and foot of a Pryor. He couldn't close the distance quick enough, and when he let his hands go, he always had to set himself first. Pryor would get his shots off faster, and there would be a higher sense of urgency in his work in comparison to Chavez. It's a different fight, and I believe a tougher one for Pea.

Pryor would get the win, whether it be out-right or not. I tend to think Pea has a rough fight, stays on his feet, but ultimately gets outpointed and outworked. I don't believe Pea has the firepower to get Pryor out of there late.

Pryor UD.

 

selfkill good post but i see this fight being too close to call and have heard every argument for and against each guy and nothing changes my mind its too close to call.

good post though

 

I just think Pryor's off balance footwork would be a big disadvantage against an elusive counter-puncher like Pea, who worked punches off of angles with the best of them. Though I can't see him hurting Pryor, I can definitely see him catching Pryor off balance with slick counters, which could result in a flash knockdown. We never saw Pryor with anything like a Whitaker style fighter, so we can't really be sure how he fared against them in comparison to more stationary targets like Arguello.

 

Absolutely.

Whitaker's lateral movement may slow down Pryor's punch output significantly enough to create openings. There aren't many more skilled fighters in the history of the game then Pea, but even he I think would find it hard to stop Aaron Pryor's aggressive style. As I say, even in the event most of his punches hit air, and the cleaner punches are landed over the course of the fight by Whitaker. The judges would likely favor the aggressive fighter. I'm not saying it's justified, but it's the reality.

 

The shots that would be key for Whitaker outscoring and outlanding Pryor - the ones up the middle. Pryor hung his head out to dry. The jab would probably be Whitaker's main weapon throughout the fight. He'd need to be extremely precise and his overall co-ordination on the money most of the time. Pryor would obviously be best served pushing the action throughout. I can't see Whitaker fighting within range too much. As good as his defense was across all possible areas, Pryor would get through with some leather often if Whitaker stood in the pocket for long spells. Whitaker's showing against Nelson would be the template for beating Pryor. Busy jab, moving in all directions, jabbing off the backfoot, working the body, and throwing combinations. Whitaker wasn't prone to taking a breather on the ropes too much. Against Nelson he was away as quick as a flash when backed into corners.

 

Aaron Pryor and Wilfred Benitez are the two modern fighters of the same size as Pernell that could probably beat him, but this one is 50/50. Pryor didn't fight long enough to make him the clear favourite and Pernell never really fought a fighter with a high workrate mixed with good boxing ability.

 

This one is almost too good to declare a verdict on...Pryor's withering attack vs. Pea's slick elusiveness.

Pryor on points.

 

This is one of the hardest fights of all time to pick. I honestly wouldnt bet a dime on either one, its that close to call.

Neither one ever faced anything like the other. The question is... would Pea's defensive brilliance throw off Pryor's attack, or would Pryor's whirlwind offense throw off Pea's defense.

With a gun to my head... I pick Pryor by VERY close decision. Pea would scream robbery, and many would have Pea winning.

 

I can't Pic a winner , Like Xplosive with a gun to my head Pryor, though I wouldn't bet if there was a bullet in the chamber. Pea isn't knocking AP out obviously, but sir slickness certainly may win, he beat bigger men.

 

Can't decide....

 

I'm going to tentatively take Pea based on his workrate, slickness and better technique. I think his speed and sharpness would have him countering Pryor effectively. Pryor would come out frantic trying to put Pea straight off his game but i think Pea is too fast and wise to be overrun. Duran at his best might smother him a bit but there's a big skill gap between Duran and Pryor.

 

I'm not to sure what Duran has to do with this discussion, but I think the awkwardness of Pryor poses more problems than his skillset. I also think, now that you brought him up, that Pryor is a lot more awkward than Duran and therefore his offense would be harder to counter due to its unpredictable nature. In his fight against Arguello, he was throwing shots all of the time, from different angles, and he was closing the distance in an instant. Pea would be undeniably more ellusive, but I think to assume Pea would just avoid the onslaught is...unrealistic, to me.

 

Duran's got better defense than Pryor. I think that Duran would be harder to counter for someone like Whitaker. Pryor would be easier to find than Duran, who balances out his offense and defense so much better.