I just finished re-watching the HBO Legendary Nights episode of Pryor/Arguello where Aaron speaks about his controversial loss against Howard Davis in the Olympic Trials, and i wanted to ask the Classic Boxing historians about Aaron Pryor if he WOULD'VE won the Gold Medal... Would he have had more success in his career? How would you guys see a young Pryor after the Olympics?. :good.
He might of won the gold had he gone to the Games, BI. Never will know. But I'm not sure how valid his claim is when he says he lost a controversial decision in the Trials. Mind you, I haven't done extensive research on it. But I have found some clippings in the past that don't allude to any controversy from the result of the fight at all; "Howard Davis Jr. of Glen Cove, N.Y., outpointed Aaron Pryor of Cincinnati, the world's top-ranked amateur, in a stirring slugfest. Pryor, a silver medalist in the Pan American Games, had predicted he would knock out Davis in the second round. But Davis swept the three rounds, winning a unanimous 5-0 verdict. Davis, 20, who just this year moved up from the 125-pound division, outpointed the favored Pryor with his brilliant counterpunching." - Columbus (Ohio) Telegram, June 6th, 1976 "Davis, fighting throughout with a smug smile on his face, demonstrated a lethal left hand. Both fighters absorbed an astounding number of punches number of punches in the course of the bout, but it was Davis' wide assortment which caused the most damage. He opened a cut on Pryor's lip with about a minute left in the fight. The hometown favorite seemed a worn fighter from that point on." - Cincinnati Observer, June 6th, 1976 The Trials were held in Pryor's hometown that year and from the little I've seen from the local press, which should point out any controversies against him, they didn't share Pryor's opinion of the fight. The only controversial decision I've read in regards to a Pryor fight from the Trials is from the semi-finals against James (Hilmer) Kenty, which he seemed to have benefited from based on what I've found; "Pryor, of Cincinnati, had a difficult time and won a disputed decision over James Kenty in the 132-pound division." - Columbus Telegram, June 5th, 1976 "Highly regarded Aaron Pryor survived a scare, winning a narrow decision in the 132-pound division over longtime rival James Kenty of Columbus, Ohio. The decision was loudly booed by the crowd, which had backed at the outset. The controversial decision nearly sparked a free-for-all between the coaches of the two fighters. A policeman had to restrain one of Kenty's coaches from throwing a chair at Pryor's coach Willie Davis, who was angered at charges that Kenty was robbed by the split decision." - AP out of Cincinnati, June 5th, 1976 Just a couple of quick clippings to add.
Possibly.He at least may have made more money.But at some point, he may have run into Kenty and Davis Jr, and that might have been a problem.
He would have been a major star, probably winning the lightweight title before winning the jr. Welter title.
Just got a video of the 'almost' men who nearly made the Olympic team. pryor is the one being featured on the video, aint watched it yet but it might have some good amatuer footage of him.
Dont realy know if he would have won, definatley would have made a lot more money if he did , thye seem to make a killing after winning medals.
If he had won Gold, then surely he would've gotten more lucrative offers. Much more likely that he would've gotten a title shot at 135 and gotten more exposure. Above that though, especially with the big names above 140, well it depends on his mindset and personal problems. He turned down the Leonard fight because he wanted more money, but if he were a bigger name and an Olympic medalist, I'm sure he would've been offered more money. Who knows, maybe his stubbornness/greed still would've caused him to turn it down, or maybe he would've accepted it (Leonard beats him soundly IMO regardless). Managerial/personal issues ****ed up the Duran fight @ 150 and a unification bout with Mamby at 140. He had a lot of personal demons with the drugs, going back to a tragic past where he was abused as a child by a priest. I'm no psychologist, but if you have as ****ed up a life as he had I can't imagine that success and money simply gets rid of the emotional scars. He had domestic quarrels with his wife (who shot him), his manager was a crook who embezzled money. Maybe if the success came quicker, his self-destructive side would've came out quicker as well.
