Pryor was a beast at 135, couldn't find challenges there, so he dominated 140. Could he have carried 147 well enough to beat a great welterweight? The way I see it, in his era, he doesn't fare well against Leonard/Hearns/Duran/Benitez at 147. I think he'd be a significant underdog to all four of them at welterweight. If we're talking about the 90s guys, I also can't see Pryor doing well against Trinidad at 147. Tito slaughters him. Ike would probably be too big and strong for him. Pryor might match up well against Oscar, but maybe not at 147. Mosley I think is too strong and has too much firepower for Pryor at 147. So throughout history, who's the best welterweight you reckon The Hawk could beat? Would he have a chance in his prime against a prime Curry, for example?
He'd beat Porter and Thurman, that much I'm confident about. The gap in class is too huge for the size advantage of Porter/Thurman to win it. I wonder how he'd fare against Spence.
Spence had enough issues with Porter. I wouldn't put it past Pryor being too quick, and throwing from too many angles for Spence. It's hard to speculate though, because he never moved up in his prime.
Hard to know. He was an excellent fighter at 140, but he showed a tendancy to be floored and fight with his chin in the air. At 147, these flash kd could turn into ko or hard kd. Also, his resume is pretty weak besides Cervantes and Arguello (though these are two legends, but they probably werent in their prime. And dont say pepermint fraser, he was a journeyman at the time he faced.pryor)
Yeah, these are possible. I don't think Pryor beats Whitaker at any weight, but it's debatable. Floyd had trouble early with Hatton at 147, so Pryor can't be counted out. How bout Pryor vs Pipino Cuevas?
Pryor might beat McGirt at 147, but its hard to say. I'd give him a decent chance against Forrest based on styles. In the last 30 years at welterweight, I'm thinking that Trinidad, Quartey, and Mosley are the three worst match-ups for Pryor at 147. Tito would badly wreck Pryor.
By best WWs are we talking about full fledged WWs that weren't at any weights below? If we're talking about best WWs then I can see Pryor having some success with guys like McGirt or Honeyghan. If we're talking about WWs that came from divisions below then Pryor has a good chance against Juan Manuel Marquez, Tim Bradley, Meldrick Taylor, Julio Cesar Chavez, or even Pernell Whitaker and Mayweather Jr.
I don't. Forrest too long, rangy, great jab and right hand power. Mayorga was bigger than Pryor. If Pryor was as big as Mayorga then stylistically yes he can beat Forrest.
I'd give Pryor a good chance at Mosley and De La Hoya. Quartey and Tito are awful for him. I do think the question is a little difficult as we never saw Pryor above 140, but we did see most of these guys who we're putting him against, against similar size guys. Most struggled against worse. It's not so much the size/strength that I think would ruin what Pryor could do. Whether you held him or not, he was still gonna hit you and his crazy flurries are probably still gonna win the rounds. And next to a guy like Forrest or Spence, he'd probably look like the flash. It's the length and power which I think is really where he'd wind up with issues. He'd have trouble getting in and when he did, he's met with something he can't handle. It's why Tito or Cuevas are so bad for him. They destroyed guys their own size who came at him, why wouldn't destroy a smaller guy? I think Mayweather is better than everyone I've mentioned, and I'd probably take Pryor to beat him, but given that Floyd was never a real welter it feels like a cop out answer. I think Pryor should probably be favoured over Carlos Palomino.
But Pryor has a better chance against Cuevas than he would against Trinidad. Tito’s height and reach would be extremely problematic for Pryor whereas against Cuevas, they’re of similar height and thus Pryor would at least have a little more success.
When Floyd Sr. was asked who would win that matchup, his response: "Mannnn Aaron Pryor would've beat the Hell outta Manny Pacquiao!"
I think Pac’s hand speed and movement would have been problematic for Pryor, which is why I favor him. It would be a war, though. I pick Spence in a close one over Pryor because of his height, reach, size and strength. I think he would edged him out on the cards in a very entertaining fight.
I don't see him having a shot. Duran would beat the dog shit outta Pryor. Pryor is made for him. And beyond that Duran was just a lot better.
