February 12, 201511 yr Ray always IMO gets sold short because he was a "Pretty Boy" but he was a Bad Man...the fight with Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns is awesome! Yes but he never got in the ring with Aaron Pryor. Pryor's fights with Arguello were unreal. I would have loved to have seen Pryor vs Leonard.
February 12, 201511 yr "Joe Louis was 76 years old! He came out of retirement to fight Marciano and he was 76 years old! 127 years old "Man you ain't meet no Frank Sinatra"
February 12, 201511 yr Author Yes but he never got in the ring with Aaron Pryor. Pryor's fights with Arguello were unreal. I would have loved to have seen Pryor vs Leonard. Seemed as if Ray was always a weight class or two heavier than Pryor. I'd liked to have seen Prior fight Hearns or Hagler also.
February 12, 201511 yr That scene is timeless. It's still hilarious. :lol2: That's how barbershops are too. :lol2:
February 12, 201511 yr That scene is timeless. It's still hilarious. :lol2: That's how barbershops are too. :lol2: I love that scene and also everyone's favorite singer...Randy Watson!!!! Yeahhhh!
February 12, 201511 yr Seemed as if Ray was always a weight class or two heavier than Pryor. I'd liked to have seen Prior fight Hearns or Hagler also. At one point Pryor was jr. welterweight champion and Leonard was welterweight champion. Pryor's camp was willing to fight at the welterweight level and finally Leonard signed the contract to fight Pryor. Leonard then had the detached retina and they never fought.
February 12, 201511 yr At one point Pryor was jr. welterweight champion and Leonard was welterweight champion. Pryor's camp was willing to fight at the welterweight level and finally Leonard signed the contract to fight Pryor. Leonard then had the detached retina and they never fought. I really believe Pryor would have won this fight in 1982 and he would be talked about as a top 5 boxer of all time. Unfortunately Leonard's injury kept this from happening.
February 12, 201511 yr Why did Pryor never fight Duran, Hagler or Hearns back then? Here is my take which is is slanted towards Pryor. Hagler was a middleweight his whole career so he was way up in weight on Pryor. Pryor was to fight the winner of Leonard vs Hearns (1981 fight). Leonard won setting up the 1982 fight Leonard vs Pryor. Hearns moved up in weight to fight Hagler and Benitez to make big money. Leonard gets hurt (detached retina and ruins Pryor's big money fight). Duran's camp would never let him fight Pryor and then had the "no mas" fight with Leonard. Pryor ends up fighting Arguello which in the first fight is considered one of the greatest fights ever. Pryor dominated him in the second fight even though it went 10 rounds. The Leonard fight would have gotten Pryor big money, instead the Arguello fight got him 1.6 million I believe. Boxing was such a dirty business and you had so many guys not wanting to fight other guys like Pryor for fear of losing their title and big paychecks.
February 12, 201511 yr What the heck has boxing become? How enjoyable is this conversation and this thread? Those memories are incredible! Boxing is dead in the US because of shady promoters and unlikeable fighters. I miss boxing!
February 12, 201511 yr What the heck has boxing become? How enjoyable is this conversation and this thread? Those memories are incredible! Boxing is dead in the US because of shady promoters and unlikeable fighters. I miss boxing! I can't name 5 boxers right now. I don't even know who the heavyweight champ is.
February 12, 201511 yr I can't name 5 boxers right now. I don't even know who the heavyweight champ is. I can, but I don't have the passion for guys like I used to. I would argue Tyson over Holyfield for hours with guys in the mid nineties. Pernell Whitiker got robbed against Julio Cesar Chavez. Favorite nickname- Hands of Stone. I would love to see boxing get back there or see MMA rise to that status. I love the fight game!
February 12, 201511 yr The bad unlucky part for Pryor is Hearns was way ahead on the cards and had beaten Leonard up. His eye was swollen shut (actually the detached retina injury). Leonard in the 14th round some how knocks Hearns out. If Hearns had held on to win it would have been Pryor vs Hearns. Therefore Hearns does not immediately move up to fight Benitez to get a title fight.
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