Aaron "Hawk" Pryor (39 (35KO)-1-0) (35 KO's) Championship record (11-0-0) (9 KO's) All at Lighter Welterweight Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker (40 (17KO) -4-1) Championship record 19-3-1 (4 KO's) Light Welterweight Championship record (1-0-0) so his Light Welterweight and Welterweight records might matter more here. I think you would have to assume Aaron had Panama Lewis in his corner. Who you got?
I like The "Hawk" over "Sweet Pea" here . Pryors's activity and Whitaker's lack of dynamic firepower to keep him honest would be the difference. Fighters like Armstrong and Pryor would keep Whitaker fighting defensively , losing round after round. losing the fight by close decision.
Pryor would be one of the very few fighters that I would favor over Whitaker. Whitaker's jab and movement would keep Pryor at bay but I think Pryor's high workrate, fast hands and feet, unorthodox style, punches from odd angles, and better firepower would have gotten the better of Whitaker. Pryor wouldn't care too much about the punches he was getting hit with by Whitaker and would have continued overwhelming Whitaker.
Neither fighter would not have met anyone quite like the other - that makes for an intriguing matchup. No doubt who the greater fighter is overall but styles make fights and I can see Whitaker having some serious issues with Pryor.
I think that Aaron The Hawk Pryor had a little too much aggressiveness for a very technical southpaw like Pernell Sweet Pea Whittaker. The angles of Sweat Pea would give The Hawk trouble for the 12 rounds that it lasts, but Pryor would come on like an unstoppable train to win a split decision after some action packed rounds. Sweet Pea though very quick, does not have enough of a punch to make Pryor respect him.
It's odd, people are saying Pryor is all wrong for Whitaker, and I see it as the opposite. Whitaker feasted on fighters who tried to be aggressive with him, and stalk him, or impose themselves on him. Bigger, stronger, longer, and even more formidable fighters couldn't get it done against Pea trying to be aggressive, yet here the Hawk has all the advantages? Hoya, tried to impose himself, he tried to flurry, but he got forced into the fight Whitaker wanted. That is what having an ATG jab, reflexes, and ring generalship gets you. Chavez tried to impose his plan and himself on pea and track him down, he couldn't deter Pea from his game. Same for Ramirez, same for Nelson, they all tried to be aggressive and trap him and impose themselves, and they all failed. They were made, to varying degrees, all made to fight Pea's fight than the opposite. The same would hold true here, Pea would dictate with the jab, counterpunching and movement. As little as people give him credit for power, if Pryor just wades in, he's going to be in for the same surprise others were...... hmmmm I felt that, especially to the body. Anyways, I don't see Pryor being able to figure him out enough, nor trap him enough to earn a decision. I see him getting forced into a more technical fight, mixed with bull rushes and flurries, but he's not beating Pea fighting more of a Pea fight, and that is how I see it going
Sang Hyun Kim, who Pryor stopped in three. Kim’s previous 10 bouts were against opponents with a combined record of like 26-22-1. That was his bout between the two Arguello fights. Right before the first AA fight, Pryor stopped lefty Akio Kameda in six. He was 5-foot-11 and 17-0, but while he had faced better opposition than Kim at best he fought a few journeymen to earn the shot — never did anything of note before or after. He knocked down Pryor in the first, which often happened with Aaron so I wouldn’t eat anything into it. So I would say, unless I’m missing someone, Pryor never fought a world-class southpaw.
I think Pea does here what he almost always did. He will consistently score with the jab and make Pryor miss more than he ever did. He really doesn't need to earn Pryor's respect IMO, he wouldn't mind Pryor coming to him.
I think Whitaker hit harder than people thought when he was fighting. He was making Chavez slow down with body punches I remember. I think Whitaker would have a few tough moments early and then control it down the stretch and win a decision. Yet I think Pryor would beat Mayweather.
