Sept. '81. Thomas Hearns .Vs. Aaron Pryor

Sometimes I feel people make too much of the clash of styles. I think this is such an instance. Pryor is getting hit with the right hand, early, and he'd not going to survive. Bottom line.

 

I agree, it is because he's bigger though, to a significant degree. Pryor wanted to become a champ at ligtweight, Hearns matured at 154, there's a natural size issue, even at 147.

 

Pryor got hit with shitloads of right hands by Hearns in their amateur fight, only Tommy back then had more of a slappy, winging right then compared to the super-charged, show-stopping bolt of lightning he boasted at his peak. Pryor was able to eat the former up. The latter would not be food for him...

 

Like i said, i agree. At this point of their respective careers he also has a substantial natural size advantage. If the playing field was level, i.e a hypothetical pound for pound match-up with both combatants coming in at a weight wherein there is no advantage for either man, retaining their respective stylistic strengths and weaknesses, do you think the fight would be so easy for Hearns? I certainly don't.

 

I would have to agree with that. Pryor definitely has the attributes to take advantage of some of Hearns' glaring weaknesses, which were even present (and exploitable) against non-elite types who didn't go stop after the first jab-right and continued to close the gap. Sling Hearns' dubious chin into the mix and he's even more vulnerable. On the other hand, though, Hearns is naturally very big and long P4P - if we were talking about a Lightweight version of Hearns, he'd still be floating around at 5'11 with 75" in reach to play with. And while Pryor's chin is as good as they come, Hearns' power is comparable. Pryor could win, but he's still vulnerable to being wiped out early in any situation.

You're always rolling the dice to an extent with Hearns.

 

:goodYeah i agree fully, this bout is never going to be one where you can go to the bookies assured of cashing in, but based on a styles match-up, you can lean towards a man with good reason. If we put them head to head 'p4p' then of course Hearns still remains taller considerably, it's a part of his stylistic make up.:good

 

Has anybody seen the amateur matches between these two from 1976? You'd think people would have learned something. As an amateur, Steward trained Hearns strictly as a boxer, not a KO bomber. That is exactly why Hearns lost in the ams to Pryor. You don't box the Hawk, you shoot him down ASAP. That blaster of a right hand was brought out for the pro game, and used to great effect for the Hitman.

However, Pryor was also a bit of a boxer in the ams and he didn't add his firepower until the professional ranks as well. People see blowout by Hearns, but I see a real nuclear bomb of a match here. Something that could have been something along the lines of Hagler-Hearns, except a little more contained over a longer amount of rounds. Perhaps, more like Leonard-Hearns I.

In the end, I lean towards Hearns since he posses all the physical advantages. However, there is nothing to write off here. This fight really could have been one hell of a fireworks display.

I always thought that the "Four Kings" should have taken on Pryor in some way or another (mainly Duran, Hearns, and Leonard). It's a shame none of that could come to making a match with the Hawk.

 

Pryor didn't even have a strap when Duran beat Leonard.

 

Good post though, Briscoe.

 

I do think Pryor ends up losing and not just on a P4P issue, I do agree his defense is a tad too open for Hearns right. I still think he is a live threat and 1 thing about the fight is, the longer it goes the greater Pryors chance. Pryor's speed of foot and hand and inside game are his real strengths here

I think for this fight to be near fair we have to imagine Pryor gets a world class nutritionist/conditioner to help him add 13lbs of boxing functional muscle (not just muscle itself) and trim his fleshy midsection down. Its not looking quite so 1 sided then

 

It would be an exciting, competitive fight. It may not reach the 6th if they go to war(Hearns TKO), but if Pryor rocks him, Hearns may play it cautious and outbox him for the remaining rounds for a UD.

 

I don't like Pryor's chances at welterweight, especially against Hearns.

I think he gets taken out in a few rounds.

 

Hearns was a greater professional than Pryor and his right hand was too much. Pryor would get some punches in with his style, but eventually Hearns would land the right and Pryor would be stopped probably in about round 4.

 

It would have been ok but to be honest, those 4 guys (I know Hagler would have never fought Pryor), but those 3 never needed Pryor. They were at welt and up and Pryor was not. But there was enough excitement in those year without him.