Pryor is quite a polarizing fighter. Some people think he was an unbeatable God in his prime, while others think he was a totally overrated hack. How many guys in the history of 135-140 would you pick over the 80-83 Pryor? For me, it's just Duran, Armstrong, and Whitaker. Napoles as well, if you count how he looked below 147. Possibly Benitez as well. The 140 Benitez was quite a phenom, despite being a baby. I could ENVISION the Floyd of 05 beating Pryor, but in the end I'd pick Pryor. Pryor IMO would have beaten Chavez by decision in a war, and would have stopped Tszyu late.
Duran, Whitaker, Ortiz, and Armstrong I'd favor over him but they would be tough fights. Mayweather has the tools to do it, but Castillo gave him hell twice so I wouldn't favor him. Benitez could do it, but he was at his best at 147 & 154. I'd lean towards Pryor. Chavez loses a close hard fought decision. Tszyu gets overwhelmed I think.
Maybe Whitaker. I'd pick Pryor over all the other. Chavez might match his workrate but I think Pryor is more fast and fluid and would win a dec. Could see Duran tagging him with the right often enough to ko him, but once again, my bet would be Pryor to get him out of his confort zone and win a brawl.
Any solid accurate puncher is live against Pryor. Its not a shortlist. I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Judah blast him out early by simply catching him first over and over again and Pryor falling down over and over again. Floyd would hit him at will. Tszyu is going to hit him with right hands at will and Pryor winning is completely dependant on being able to walk through it every single time. Chavez would fuck Pryor up and land between his shots shots until he was a bloody mess. You have to respect a guy that forsakes skill and forethought and just slugs it out but you don't have to pretend he was better than he was.
Pryor Beats ANY Natural 140 lb'der that Ever Lived...Tszyu, Judah, Hatton, Garcia, Bradley, You Name it... Naturally BIGGER Guys that Passed Thru '35-'40, like Napoles, DeLa and Sugar Shane, Could Conceivably Beat Him...DeLa and Shane Would Have to Do it INSIDE 12 Rounds Though, Because Pryor's EPIC Stamina Would Greatly Compromise Their Gas Tanks Over 15... Armstrong and Duran Might Get it Done @ '35...Personally, REED Thinks Pryor's a BAD Matchup for "Cutey's" like Sweet Pea and Floyd... REED:hammert:
I used to look at Pryor in pretty much the same light as you guys until I "rediscovered" him. He wasn't that fast and he was sloppy in everything he did. Obviously he's tough and resilient but a guy that depends on that shouldn't get hurt and dropped consistently against nobodies. And that's what most of his opponents were. Pointing out that they were "ranked contenders" is pathetic.
Fuck all that. De la Hoya ´96 would have cut him to pieces and stopped him in 8 rounds....piece of piss.
Pretty much... He was sloppy and there to be hit. Being tough and resilient is great but that's an example where he'd be so consistently outclassed that what would it really matter.
Right???... If Pryor Actually Had a HISTORY of Being KO'ed, "Any Solid Accurate Puncher" Would Be LIVE Against Him...But That Simply WASN'T the Case... Twerp's Basically Made Aaron Pryor Out to Be Amir Khan... REED:hammert:
