Pryor and this 135 avoidance story....

The titlists at lightweight when Pryor fought Cervantes...were Jim Watt and Hilmer Kenty.
Both had only recently won the titles.

As far as I can gather because Pryor didnt go to the Olmypics he turned pro without the hype and attention of guys like Davis Jr.
The first name I can recognise on his record is Alfonzo Frazer..Its quite possible that Pryor just wasnt on anyones radar until this fight and it would be less then a year later he fights Cervantes.

Im pretty sure Pryor signed with Harold Smith not long before he fought Cervantes..I know he was with him until King...So he may not have had the best management at the time he was coming up at lightweight.

 

I think he just got the chance of a title shot against Cervantes and took it.

 

Agreed.

He always had that "Everyone is ducking me" shtick, but he was only a rated contender for less than a year before he fought Cervantes, and hadn't broken into the upper echelon of the ratings until he beat contender Julio Valdez, just a few months before he fought Cervantes.

He did call out the other contenders/titleholders at lightweight, but it's not like he was knocking at their door for very long.

 

It's strange, he was the #1 ranked contender at 135 (by the Ring) while he was champ at 140, even though he hadn't fought at 135 in a long time.

 

Aaron and MGR Larosa turned down a WBA 135 title shot vs Ernesto Espana because they didn't want to go to Venezuela.
Sorry but its true folks!

 

...nobody avoided pryor...actually it was often the other way around..

 

looks like he avoided Bumphus or maybe just paid off to step aside to make it easier for Johnny to win a title. he was a terrible fighter

 

Whom did Pryor avoid?

I know personal and managerial problems ****ed up fights with Duran and Mamby, and he wasn't happy with the money offered from Leonard.

 

Can't imagine The Hawk ducking anyone :think

 

Well if you count your manager getting arrested and then your wife putting a bullet in you as "ducking", then Pryor ducked Mamby.

 

Wasn't he just accused of ducking Bumphus? Wouldn't have lasted more than a round

 

I thought at best, Pryor was a top 5 contender at lightweight.Wasn't Ali the one who got him his title shot?

 

Mamby Vs Pryor is very interesting IMO.

Still think Pryor would be a nightmare for Bumphus!