Aaron Pryor vs. Roberto Duran

Duran is all kinds of wrong for Pryor.

 

pryor gets the brakes beaten off of him. pryor was a good fighter, but gets seriously overrated. his best wins were against a way out of his weight class arguello, and a way beyond his prime pambele.
arguello gave pryor all he could handle in the first fight, and as much as i love alexis, he was no duran. nobody who catches punches like pryor did ever beats duran.

 

Roberto Duran by unanimous decision

I think he was a better all around fighter. This would have been a war.

 

Pressure fighters with not so great defense like Pryor get whooped by Duran. Roberto wins this off better inside fighting, and superior defense. 10-5 or something like that at 140. Pryor was a beast but Duran would have beaten him. The only pressure fighter I would give a chance at beating Duran at 140 would be Armstrong. It takes an extremely slick fighter ala Whitaker, or Benitez to be Duran at these weights.

 

Pryor is overrated in mythical matchups, but so is duran. Alexis arguello started at featherweight, but he was clearly way too big for that weightclass, so he eventually grew out of it. By the way, pryor is a natural lightweight and he's one of those fighters that wouldnt be intimidated by duran. I would give pryor a 50/50 shot at beating him head to head.

 

great point about the fact Pryor was a natural lightweight.

Pryor brought more fireworks and thunder than guys like esteban Dejesus......a fight at 135 between these two....WOW!

 

Duran beats pryor on pts

Why ?

He has got a better defence, better variety of punches & probably hits harder & is no less tough.

Too many tools but pryor lasts the distance, he was also as tough as nails.

:good

 

Duran's pressure and Pryor's leaky defense leads to a Duran stoppage. Duran is the sort of fighter who can and will make Aaron pay for his fundamental errors. Guys like Duran and SRL are nightmare for Pryor, really. Duran would possibly be the worst guy at 140 i could ever think of for Pryor. Chavez would be tough but Duran would be impossible.

 

This would be a close call. Its going the full 15 in a true backburner. Duran had the defense, timing, skill while Pryor had the better speed. Both had great stamina and workrate. I think Duran edges it out 9-6

 

Duran outworks "The Hawk", to take a clear UD.

 

Yes it would have. It would have been a fight for the ages.

I pick Duran, but counting Pryor out is not very smart, he's a live one.

 

Duran, he's simply the better all around fighter

 

I rate Duran as the greatest Lightweight ever. But I would have to go with Pryor on this one. Too much non stop pressure and plenty of speed would begin to get unsettling for Duran as the fight wore on. Both fighters were crazy, and the unrelenting pace of a constant all out war would suit Pryor's manic style & workrate a little better.

 

At their peaks, both seemed impervious, upstairs, downstairs, in resistance to sustaining facial damage, and in terms of endurance.

Where the Hawk and El Cholo differ is in defense, bodypunching, center of gravity, and countering skill. Roberto would be under and inside Aaron's attack with his quicker and shorter punches. Duran could also come over the top every well, against a frequently upright adversary.
Pryor can pitch over a hundred punches per round for the full 15, but with his high chin, wide open body, and headhunting fixation, this would come down to hitting without being hit, and counterpunching, as well as balance.

Pryor was not in the habit of shooting for a stoppage win, frequently a make or break proposition. In contrast, Duran was capable of deciding to aim for a scorecard win early enough to carry it off. He had the great Ken Buchanan beat on the scorecards as round 13 ended, secured the decision early in Montreal, and outpointed several fine opponents in nontitle affairs.

It would be exciting to watch, but a clear cut UD for Duran when over. He could well boost his points margin by catching Hawk for a couple of flash KD's as well.

The Hawk could use his legs for elusive movement very well when he wished to, and that would be his best opportunity to gain the favor of the judging, but with his characteristic approach, I doubt he would consider that strategy against a foe of Duran's makeup.