It always perplexes me that Leonard-Pryor is considered some missed superfight. As if it were some debatable matchup that could have gone either way, and we missed out on it. Some people act as if Pryor could have pulled a Duran and won, simply missing the mark on the fact that Pryor wasn't as good as Duran. I think Leonard would've stopped Pryor inside of 6. Just look at the way he destroyed Bruce Finch for a preview. And yes, I'm aware that Finch couldn't carry Pryor's jock, but that type of firepower coming back at Aaron and his wide open defense would have been too much for him.
Leonard was simply too good and too big. Pryor was a terrific fighter. Leonard from 79-82 is one of the greatest fighters who ever lived, and also naturally bigger than Aaron.
Leonard-Pryor is Discussed Due to the FACT Pryor Dropped Leonard in Sparring... Granted, You HAVE to Favor Leonard Somewhat Comfortably, But He'd Definitely EARN it vs. Pryor...It'd Be One of Leonard's TOUGHER Fights, Based on Sheer FAMILIARITY from their '76 Pre-Olympic Days... REED
Pryor priced himself out of that fight. He didn’t really want it all that bad. I don’t see Pryor winning. I think he does well in spots, gets in some hard shots, maybe wins a couple of rounds but I think he simply makes too many mistakes defensively to have had a realistic chance at actually WINNING this fight. I’m gonna say Leonard KO 8 in a fun brawl. But nah, Pryor had little if any chance at beating Leonard.
I never understood how people thought that Leonard was afraid of Pryor. Pryor is an awesome fighter but he’s out of his depth against a full fledged WW like Leonard. People like to use the Hearns amateur fight as a measuring stick on his abilities against the Fab 4 but it’s just not valid. If they were to ever fight I don’t see Pryor having the same kind of success Duran had in Montreal. It would be a fun but one sided fight in Leonard’s favor.
Leonard would probably win. The Pryor that beat Arguello in 1982 would be a formidable matchup for Ray. Only Benitez, Duran, Hagler and Hearns were more formidable