Leonard vs Pryor at 144 in 1981 over 15 - Who wins???

Pryor gives away some dollars for Leonard three pounds under the welter limit...........Tough to call this one..........

If Pryor gets Leonard riled then he wins a very close decision like Duran but if Leonard boxes smart he would probably get the decision, not going to be easy either way and I can't see either getting stopped.

You think Pryor might get to him like he did with Arguello with his incessant workrate??

I find it hard to picture the fight......Just think Leonard might find a way Ghosty..

Ah man. I don't know Pryor well enough to judge. I know him, but would take some rewatching of fights. Was hoping to see a 15 point breakdown. I will have to bow to greater knowledge

I prefer Arguellos style against Pryor than Leonards but he was a guy moving up and his power couldn't have been what it was down at super featherweight. Leonard in contrast would have a fair bit more bang at 144 than Arguello at 140lbs, as well as being bigger and faster but if he tries to fight fire with fire then there's only going to be one winner and that's Pryor.

Just that Pryor is a hard man to train for...Punching off the wrong foot and off balance....

Fancy Leonard over 12 but in 81 it would have been 15..

Pryor was my favourite fighter of the day, but Leonard too cute for him. Sure he let Duran drag him into the trenches, but he nearly won that fighting the wrong fight. The caveat being the 3 pounds draining him, but assuming he can make the weight he'd do enough.

There's a lot of bull about Leonard ducking Pryor, but if you look at the timelines, when was it going to happen, and look who else Srl was fighting. Pryor called him out, but Leonard was everyone's meal ticket back then.

Leonard wins a comfortable decision. Just too good. If Alexis can give Pryor fits, Leonard gives him hell.

Agree with Az, Leonard fairly comfortably. I tend to think that People confuse excitement with talent when judging Pryor, agree he was great to watch, but Leonard would find him with every counter he threw, competitive for a few rounds, but Leonard could punch and I think he busts up and stops Pryor somewhere around the eleventh.

Leonard for me as well, over twelve or fifteen. I appreciate that Duran roughed Leonard up in Montreal, and obviously Pryor was a rough handful in there with an insane engine, but it sometimes gets forgotten that, in certain rounds, Duran actually outjabbed Leonard as well (admittedly only for a round at a time) and of course he was a slippery customer inside as well, deceptively hard to hit. Pryor just wasn't that hard to get to in any capacity and I'd fancy Ray's class over Aaron's power and work rate just about every time.

Leonard by hard-fought but deserved decision over twelve, a wider decision and maybe even a late stoppage over fifteen.

Leonard.....with ease.

Huge fan of Pryor one of my favs to watch but think Ray just Too big, too athletic, too fast and something many people forget, incredibly powerful.

In order to win, Pryor would have to either outbox Leonard or by knocking him down several times. I don't know which is more unlikely. The only way he could outbox him is by overwhelming him, but that didn't even work for more than a few rounds against Arguello a much lighter man, interesting fight one of the greats that didn't happen, but as much as it pains me, Leonard by 11 rounds to 4 on this lines

Cheers Rodders

Leonard came in at 145 for both the first Duran fight and a later title defence against Larry Bonds, so I'm not sure that he sweats the extra pound too much.

With that in mind, plus the fact that Pryor's finest hour against Arguello came right at the end of 82, so it's fair to describe him as short of his peak a year-eighteen months beforehand in 81, I take Leonard to win this, and in some style.

The Leonard of 81 was one of the best fighters at any weight I've ever seen. He could feint you out of your foul cup, hit you with combinations without taking anything in return and punch like a freight train with either hand. Far too quick for Pryor back then, in my view, quite apart from being bigger, and I could see Ray stopping Aaron in something like 11 with a blizzard of unanswered blows.

captain carrantuohil wrote:Leonard came in at 145 for both the first Duran fight and a later title defence against Larry Bonds, so I'm not sure that he sweats the extra pound too much.

With that in mind, plus the fact that Pryor's finest hour against Arguello came right at the end of 82, so it's fair to describe him as short of his peak a year-eighteen months beforehand in 81, I take Leonard to win this, and in some style.

The Leonard of 81 was one of the best fighters at any weight I've ever seen. He could feint you out of your foul cup, hit you with combinations without taking anything in return and punch like a freight train with either hand. Far too quick for Pryor back then, in my view, quite apart from being bigger, and I could see Ray stopping Aaron in something like 11 with a blizzard of unanswered blows.

Good old American gym expression, az (although I think Dundee said "feint you out of your jockstrap"), as Truss might be able to confirm!

Given SRL's confession in his book, perhaps that's not the best choice of phrase to use.

It was a more innocent time, az. Halcyon days.

Were there any innocent times?

No, but I was a teenager and therefore knew very little about almost everything (apart from boxing, strangely enough!). I was still clinging to innocence in early 81, albeit with an increasingly tenuous grip!

captain carrantuohil wrote:No, but I was a teenager and therefore knew very little about almost everything (apart from boxing, strangely enough!). I was still clinging to innocence in early 81, albeit with an increasingly tenuous grip!

Somethings never change

I'm now old enough to be regressing, az.

It pains me to say this but I see Leonard winning this. I just think he's a little too big for Pryor who only fought at 140lbs because it was easier for him to get a title shot. Pryor was really a lightweight.

Leonard for me as well, but in a very close fight. Ray would just had that little bit more in all departments added to the size advantage to take this on points. Pryor though was not a easy fight for anyone in the history of the game, not even an ATG like Sugar Ray and he would have to go through some hellish rounds to take it.

Pryor's incessant stalking and workrate would be hardwork for Sugar....

Over 15..

Tough fight for Ray as Pryor would look to suffocate him like Duran managed to. Leonard was better at range. Hard to pick against Leonard, though -- big fight performer.

And Pryor could FIGHT. Capital letter FIGHT.

You're right Haz he could capital letter fight!!