How great could Aaron Pryor have been?

Pryor had loads of talent, could recup from getting hurt, had speed and power. His win over Cervantes and 2 over the much acclaimed great Arguello give an indication of what type of fighter he was. He dominated good fighters and beat 3 greats. The drugs and the black bottle put a damper on his legacy and shortened his career

 

Well, if competing for the WBC FECARBOX title in his native Colombia counts as high level, but in my opinion he was clearly not the force he had been in his prime.

Lennox Blackmoore was not really a good fighter despite having fought Pryor for the title, so it's difficult to say whether Cervantes's knockout of him proves that he was still a threat to the division at that stage. He did stop Montilla in their rematch, although Montilla was mainly known as a local Dominican fighter previous to taking Cervantes to a close decision in their first fight.

Cervantes had also recently gone to a split decision with unheralded Kwang Min Kim of South Korea which may indicate that Cervantes was only holding onto the belt until a fired up challenger would eventually take it from him. Pryor proved to be that man but I imagine there were other fighters who could have.

 

He was undeniably great already, so the later drugs meant nothing. He WAS great. period:hat

 

No, obviously he wasn't, but I think Pryor had more to do with that than advancing age alone would account for. However, the penultimate win of his career was over Amancio Castro, who would later knock out Jimmy Paul in two. Sergio Alvarez wasn't a stiff either, and their records on issboxWRECK prior to taking on Cervantes are certainly not complete. Jerome Artis was competent at the time, if lacking in power, and he didn't really start sliding badly until after Cervantes. (He'd recently lost a close decision to Bramble.)

Blackmoore handed Noel his first two defeats (both by tenth round stoppage), and he had some experience over the championship distance. He stopped future IBF SF Champion Barry Michael in seven. In 60 fights, Michael was only stopped by Blackmoore and Lockridge (who retired Michael). He beat up 34-2 Dale Hernandez, and broke his nose in Hernandez's Omaha hometown for a rousing American debut, and this is really what got Lennox the shot at Pryor. His skills made him a reputable enough challenger that his match with Pryor got broadcast live on ABC by Cosell, but he immediately got overwhelmed by Aaron's looping hooks out of the gate in a way that Pambele did not.

(The Hawk could bomb with both hands, but his left did all the damage that I recall with Blackmoore. Speaking of Blackmoore, here's a clip with him discussing his work as a trainer at Gleason's Gym:

This content is protected

I'd be interested in hearing him describe his experiences with Cervantes, Pryor and Noel.)

As far as I'm concerned, it would have made more sense for Cervantes and Blackmoore to square off first in a qualifier for the right to challenge Pryor however, although a courtesy return with Pambele was merited regardless of such an eliminator being held. (At this same time, Ernesto Espana got opportunities to regain the WBA LW Title against Kenty, Frias and Mancini. Cervantes was infinitely more distinguished and deserving of at least one such opportunity for a final major payday in the limelight.)

That SD did take place in Seoul, causing me to wonder how close it actually was. As often as Pambele fought in Columbia, it must also be acknowledged that he wasn't afraid to go on the road to neutral or even hostile territory. (He stopped Rodolfo Gonzales in LA for his first major win, and that decision over Montilla was in NYC a decade later, at MSG.) All three of his championship distance career SDs were in the hometowns of his opponents, and he went 2-1 in these. His decision over Montilla was unanimous, and on wholly neutral turf. (Early in his career, Montilla did something unique. He invaded Puerto Rico, and outscored Escalera on the Snake Man's home turf over ten, a trick no other outsider ever managed.)

Looking at the list of Pryor's challengers before Arguello, Dujuan Johnson probably would have been the most serious threat to Cervantes aside from the aging process, but Montilla went the distance with Johnson after Pambele stopped him, and I'm not convinced he would have been ready to last 15 with a relaxed and experienced Cervantes.

 

Maybe a tad bit greater.He definitely could have solidified his hold on the 140 lbs belt by unification and a couple of wins over some other top contenders.As far as Welterweight, don't see him beating Curry, Starling, or McCrory at their best.

 

Cant respect this guy, even though Im from Ohio.

 

Thanks for the breakdowns Duodenum. I'm a big HAwk fan myself. He was a natural the same way James Toney and Sweat Pea were in boxing. Fighting just came very natural to them and their styles fit them perfectly.

 

He sure was fun to watch fight prior to winning the title and all those title defenses. Anyone out there think Mancini ever had any sort of chance with the guy? If he would've fought at lw, I sure didn't see any of that crop doing very well against a Pryor.

 

He was an all time great 140 pounder ... extremely strong, lightning fast, a murderous puncher, terrific chin, heart and stamina ... a bit wild and sloppy at times but held it together ... keep in mind he was a natural lightweight and only fought at 140 because all the lightweights were ducking him ...

 

How great was he? His biggest win is tainted. I like the guy as a fighter and usually rate him well H2H but questions remain about the Arguello fight. Beating Arguello more convincingly in the rematch doesn't clear it up because Arguello suffered a brutal stoppage in the first fight which surely took something out of him.
Having said that, I think he was a great 140 lber. He could be wild and undisciplined but I think he had the ability to tighten things up enough when challenged. Like against Arguello, when Arguello started to get to him he changed style a bit to out boxing. Regardless of any stimulants that took some ring smarts (ala both Leonard/Hearns in their first fight). I think he could have ruled 140 for several years. Maybe age and someone like Taylor/Chavez/Whitaker catch up to him around '88/89.
I DO NOT think he would've excelled at 147. I certainly don't think he beats Leonard and not Curry or Starling either. I do think he would've been too much for McCrory.

 

He strikes me as a Wilfredo Gomez type fighter...immensely talented and dominate at his favoured weight but I personally dont see him going so well against the best at 147 nor having much in the way of longevity there.

 

Not sure we can look at him separately from his drug issues. He was what he was, I guess.

 

I'm not really sure how much his career suffered in terms of longevity due to the drug issues, he wasn't all that old in terms of actual age (late 20s when he started to decline), but he had such a high energy style. Maybe he could've been one of those fighters that still had longevity despite his style, or adjusted as he got older, but I'm guessing he only would've had a couple years more at the top anyway.

Possibly more so than his drug abuse, his inability to secure a title fight @ 135 (can anyone give more detail about this, I'm not too well-informed about this) and managerial issues hurt him in terms of his legacy. Naturally, Pryor being able to win the title at 135 would've helped his all-time standing. While Mamby may have not been a great fighter, he was a solid fighter and a champ and beating him in a unification bout @ 140 would've helped as well (Pryor had managerial issues which ****ed this up and then his wife shot him). I don't like Pryor's chances at all at 147 against Leonard (or Hearns) so I guess it's good that he rejected Ray's offer, but I actually think he had a better chance of beating Duran @ 150. Especially since Duran was inconsistent at the higher weights. Beating an ATG like Duran (before he fought Moore) would've helped his standing.

 

I think retiring when he did really hurt him. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he ended getting exposed several times like Mosley or Hatton. As it is, he has an aura of invincibility.

 

Im yet to find any evidence of Pryor being ducked at lightweight. Though I wasnt around at the time.

Just seems a lot of Ohio newspapers gave Aaron some attention for him to mostly winge about his ranking and lament about Howard Davis' career going a lot better than his because of what happened at the Olympics trials.

Duran had just left the divvy..and Kenty & Watt picked up the vacant titles.