Pryor was one of my favorite fighters to watch in the ring. He was a whirlwind of non stop aggression from start to finish. It's amazing to watch the pace he sets even as a little guy the whole fight he was just non stop, throwing incredible bursts of punches, dancing around the ring at times, jumping in and out from different angles and taking a lot of punishment at times and coming back. I'm interested in what his training regement was like, also I'd like to know if any of you have insight on what he was like in the gym, I suspect he'd have to be a balls to the walls hard worker and show the same determination in training as he showed in the ring to get into the kind of shape he was in.
Interesting question, but as an aside I wonder if he really took all that much punishment. You could catch him with individual shots, sure, but I can't recall watching him standing there sponging up punches. Poor balance and perhaps not being really into the flow of fights cost him the odd knockdown here and there, but opponents were often forced to run and cover up as often as they were able to fire back.
I actually laughed out loud at this comment... Bat**** crazy certainly but I've always wondered if Pryor was coked up in his fights. I know he developed a very bad drug problem especially later on in his boxing career but in his prime I've always found it hard to envision that he'd be using coke before fighting. Coke does make one feel amazing and invincible but it doesn't make you invincible like Pryor seemed to be and also it affects you're breathing snorting that **** and also cocaine wears off fairly quick and when it does you quickly begin feeling like **** this wouldn't be good in the ring. But with the energy and intensity Pryor shows in the ring seems almost unhuman and makes you think he had to be high on something:yep anyone know any actual facts on whether Pryor used cocaine or any other stimulants before his bouts of course I know about the famous bottle incident in the first Arguello fight don't think whatever it may have been made much of a difference Pryor was the better man.
If a fighter used cocaine during a fight I would imagine that they would be short of breath and lose their balance fairly easily. It would be a terrible idea. As for Pryor he was non stop motion. He was able to punch from awkward angles. I think his offense was his defense in some ways. He never gave his opponent the time or room to get comfortable.
Pryor may have been a cheat, sorry. No one can maintain that pace of fighting legally. He had a suspicious incident with panama lewis giving him a special mix bottle and him skipping a drug test. I am pretty sure he was on a ped if not coke. Coke does make you want to fight and give you extra energy. But he was also a lightweight and the more you go down in the weight the more punches you can throw and the better endurance you can have. What are we learning about roy jones another fighter who fought like pyror but at a higher weight class....doping.
There was some vague coverage of Pryor's prep leading up to the second Arguello fight. It alluded to his helter skelter preparations before Manny Steward joined the team. Pryor was sparring endless rounds without headgear one day and then going MIA for the next two or three days. I don't know if it reflects his entire career but it was interesting. I get the sense that Pryor was one of those guys who naturally had insane, freakish, built in stamina. Some guys just have cardio that's naturally off the charts like Wayne McCollough or Jorge Castro.
My Dad used to work out at a power house gym in Detroit that apparently attracted a lot of boxers for some reason. (He mentioned Floyd Sr. bring Jr. to the gym telling everybody lil Floyd was gonna be a beast) And he said Aaron Pryor used to work out like a freak of nature. Literally non-stop one thing to the next without even resting... I can only assume there wasn't too much weight lifting or anything like that, but still
The hawk was simply a freak of nature the type of fighter that in output is comparable to greats greb , berg and the amazingly underrated beau jack who probably if taken at his peak in fantasy match-ups would be a nightmare opponent for any lightweight
the best amateur fight I have ever seen was pryor v Thomas hearns, what a fight that was, non-stop all the way.
I don't think he skipped a drug test. The Miami Commission didn't administrator one as far as I know.
I think Emmanuel Steward tells a story in which Pryor goes missing from training camp for days. Nobody knows where he is. Then Pryor shows up looking like he was out all night and spars something like 15 rounds.
I saw him work out at the Indy PAL maybe around early 1979 when he was managed by Buddy LaRosa and didn't know much about him except that he had stopped the local Indiana 135lb champ Marion "Tiger" Thomas. He might've been there to spar with him, in fact, but, yes, he was intense and singleminded in focus. That much I did notice clearly.
