Folks, I am a fan of Aaron Pryor, but, also very critical of the man as well. I feel too many fans label and tag A.P. as an all-time great based on his swarming style and approach.. However, whether or not Aaron Pryor was a unique swarmer / brawler of not, he also applied very general / basic boxing technique in the ring, also... Question here is, did Aaron Pryor really fight and kick ass on truly good or great competition??? Aside from beating an older and heavier Alexis Arguello in 1982 and 1983, who else is memorable on Pryor's record??? NOTE: Many feel A.P. got a gift nod over Gary Hinton in his IBF title defense of 1985.... And, we all know what happened against Bobby Joe Young later on in circa--1987....... My gut feeling is, Aaron Pryor was good, but also sloppy, reckless, wild & lucky.... A true great? Hmmmmm....... Any takers? MR.BILL:bbb
One of the best 140 pounders I have ever seen...but I think he falls short of being great. Potential of a great but didnt really have the names on his ledger outside of Alexis, which counts for a hell of a lot but cant really elevate him to greatness IMO...I have a pretty harsh criteria when it comes to calling fighters that word. I think he surrounded himself with the wrong people....certain fights didnt materialize for various reasons..and the drugs followed.
I think so. He is not top 25 ATG but his domination of Alexis Arguello and that great fight, and beating Cervantes, he is certainly a great fighter. Hard to say where he should be ranked.
Well, Cervantez is a great win isnt it? But the whole cheating/drugs thing leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, and hes from my state.
The Cervantes win is certainly worth something, Antonio is criminally underrated...but you could argue Antonio was pretty shopworn by that fight.
Tony Cervantes was near age 33 / 34 in 1980........ Allie Arguello was also 29 / 30 in 1982 thru '83...... Pryor has a rep for beating old farts........ Truth....... MR.BILL
There are two witnesses who say Aaron Pryor cheated against Alexis Arguello.......Luis Resto, who said Panama Lewis mixed a breathing concoction used for Asthmatics to open up his lungs when he was having a hard time catching his wind....... ......and Emmanuel Steward, who is on record as stating that when he trained Pryor for the Arguello rematch, Pryor confided in him that his training with Panama Lewis was'nt on the up and up, that he got through training with Panama through cheating means..... Aaron Pryor is a ****ing cheat and he does'nt deserve any accolades! Pryor is absolutely not a great!
Pryor is one of the most overated fighters especially here on ESB, with certain posters. He was a HOF worthy fighter imo but failed short as an all time great. His only 2 notable wins come against an old Cervantes and a past his prime Arguello who if one wanted to get picky wasnt a natural 140 lber to begin with.
For me he was a great fighter. His furious non-stop style combined with his iron chin and iron will would be a nightmare for any 140lber. Arguello and Cervantes were great wins. In the amateurs he outboxed Tommy Hearns who went on to prove a stylistc nightmare for everyone in the pros. Yet it was Pryor's style which was too much for Hearns, and he overwhelmed him in only 3 rounds. He was all over Hearns from the get go, swarmed him every second. Took Hearns best shots and never took a backward step. I love Pryor's style. He gets severely underrated because he was all-action. Pity all these self-annointed boxing experts that have spawned on internet forums can't seem to appreciate it. I would've loved to have seen a Manny Pac vs Aaron Pryor fight. How exciting would that have been? Would've resembled a 12 round Hagler-Hearns.
Hmmmm.... Very suspect there........ I was told Pryor had upset stomach....... The hell? MR.BILL:good:happy