On their way to the top they wanted to fight every top fighter, and when they got to the top they still had that attitude of fighting the best? Floyd is void in this case. As you can't try and cement a legacy by fighting Andre Berto instead of Thurman/Porter/Brook/Golovkin etc. So hopefully you see where I'm going with this thread. Ali is one, surely. SRL has to be another. Who else?
Wlad Klitschko. Say what you want about his era but he never ducked a challenge, with the one exception obviously.
Great shout. Wlad's reign really was something, IMHO. He had the tendency to bore you to tears, but when he went for the kill it was always spectacular.
Aaron Pryor desperately wanted a champion at 135, was avoided blatantly, moved to 140 to win his world title, and chased Ray Leonard at 147 immediately afterwards. James Toney never saw a challenge he didn't run towards either. There have been plenty of Hall of Fame champions at 160 who probably would have given 2 defences against Mike McCallum a miss.
Pryor is a good answer but SRL did offer Pryor a fight and he turned it down. Pryor was in a terrible contract with his manager, I believe a 50-50 split, and Pryor waited for more money .. and then the fight was gone...
Roberto Duran would fight anybody from 130 to 165 pounds, he took on Hagler after Hearns had pulled out of a fight with him and Leonard wanted nothing to do with Marvin till years later. He fought guys like Hearns and Barkley who physically he had no business being in the ring with. At 45 he beat Jorge Castro who later won a lightheavyweight belt!!
You're right. A guy called Buddy La Rosa. This man paid Pryor something pathetic like $200 a week after he turned pro in return for Aaron signing a contract giving La Rosa 50% of his purses FOREVER. It's by far the most disgusting piece of ''management'' I've ever heard of in 22 years as a fan of the sport.
No doubt a sad piece of the Pryor boxing legacy .. I mean with not a total crook for a manager and a decent contract, SRL vs. Pryor probably happens .. Man that changes boxing history a bit, right?? ... what a fight that is !!
