When did Duran turn into this great defensive fighter at 140? 50/50. Pryor hit way harder than Duran. It would be a bloody ugly fight going to a prime and much ducked Aaron Pryor. 8-7 UD
Duran by the mid seventies was one of the best defensive fighters of all-time. Of course he would have great defence(regardless of weight) if you are taking the prime version and putting him against Pryor.
I like Duran by a late stop or UD but Pryor would be agressive and get caught and hit the deck, Aaron was a great fighter but Duran was the man
So who ducked Pryor? Pryors career, as impressive as it would be by most fighters standards, is still too full of 'ifs' and 'may bes' if he's to be regarded as an ATG.
Pryor's chin would be tested like never before. Arguello fought a great battle with Pryor, but he never had the same power at the higher weight. Duran without question hits harder. Arguello was a technician who liked to fight at his own pace, thats when he was able to dictate the tempo and dominate. Pryor's ruthless swarming style and unorthodox moves made life hell for the precise punching Arguello. Duran has the ability to slip Pryor's jab, and get inside. He's much more fluidly loose in a technical sense than someone like Arguello, who was more of a blocker than a slipper. Closing the distance quickly was another strong part of Duran's game, and he'd need to do so against Pryor to dominate him. I'm not saying Pryor would outbox Duran. But Duran would be best served getting close and not allowing Pryor to breathe. I continued to make the comparison with the Arguello fight as thats the kind of fight it would be, an exciting high paced battle with a busy punch output from both fighters.
He was supposedly ducked pre 140 pound days and moved up a division because of it. He certainly wasn't ducked by Leonard.
Duran falls behind early but catches up to Pryor later and knocks him out at 140....... Duran too seasoned....... Peace....... MR.BILL
Yeah, if Pryor was avoided, it was at lightweight. I'm not too clear on the exact particulars of what happened there. His personal/managerial issues prevented a unification bout with Mamby, a bout with Duran @ 150, and he or his team made the decision to turn down the Leonard fight. I'd pick Duran to beat Pryor in a very exciting fight. More polished and a better fighter.
Pryor with his intense pressure and workrate pushes Duran to the limit. Duran, being a pressure fighter himself, ensures this one will be a a hard-fought one in close quarters. However, the tiebreaker goes to Duran's edge in defensive abilities. After going full speed for 15 rounds, Duran edges it on points.
Intence meltdown head 2 head pressure but the man with the better defence & thats Duran who will subtly systematicly smash Pryor up just like Chavez did against Taylor who was unloading at a 3/1 ratio but what he took back from Chavez had him already damaged by the 6th & Duran's going to dish out the same & take less. Pryor could be beaten to a standstill late on as i'd doubt he'd take a backward step.