Aaron Pryor

Aaron Pryor, famously known as “The Hawk,” was an American professional boxer who ruled the light welterweight division in the 80s.

Pryor’s professional boxing career spanned over 14 years, from 1976 to 1990. He had a total of 40 fights, out of which he won 39, with 35 victories via knockout. He suffered only one loss via KO.

Born on October 20th, 1955, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Aaron Pryor made his professional debut in boxing at the age of 21. He faced Larry Smith on November 12, 1976, defeating Smith via 2nd round TKO.

One of the most exciting fighters of his time, Pryor’s boxing style involved a constant, high-tempo work rate, fueled by boundless energy, and sharp, precise punching.

Pryor had his first world title fight against Antonio Cervantes for the super-lightweight WBA and The Ring titles at the age of 24 on August 2, 1980. He defeated Cervantes via 4th round KO to become the super-lightweight champion of the world.

He went on to win two world titles at super-lightweight and was elevated as world champion once. During his career, Pryor successfully defended his title ten times, and nine of those defenses were stoppages.

Pryor’s outstanding boxing record includes wins over two Hall-of-Famers (Alexis Argüello and Antonio Cervantes), Kim Sang-hyun, Akio Kameda, Dujuan Johnson, Lennox Blackmoore, and Gaétan Hart.

Aaron Pryor had just a single loss in his professional boxing career, which ended his 36-fight unbeaten streak. He suffered his first loss against Bobby Joe Young via 7th round TKO on August 8, 1987.

Pryor's last professional fight was a non-title bout against Roger Choate at 35 years of age, on December 4, 1990, in which he won via a 7th round TKO.

Pryor retired from professional boxing with a record of 39-1, which included 35 knockout wins and one loss via knockout, and two title wins.

In 1982, the Boxing Writers Association of America awarded Pryor as their Fighter of the Year, a testament to his exceptional talent in the ring. In 1996, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) for his unparalleled contributions to the sport.

In a 1999 Associated Press poll, Aaron Pryor was voted as the world’s best light welterweight boxer of the 20th century. Additionally, “The Ring” magazine ranked him at number 35 in their list of the top 80 greatest boxers of the past 80 years in 2002.

As an amateur boxer, Pryor represented the United States in the Men's lightweight division at the 1975 Pan American Games held in Mexico City and won the gold medal.

Despite facing financial and managerial difficulties throughout his professional career, Pryor is still remembered today as one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Before making his debut, Pryor was working as a plumbing contractor to earn a living. His debut fight was against Larry Smith on November 11, 1976, in which he earned $400.

A few days later, Pryor signed a managerial contract with Buddy LaRosa, owner of LaRosa's Pizzeria. In addition, he was also trained by Raymond Cartier.

In 1977 Pryor fought eight times, winning all but two by knockout. The only two fighters who lasted the entire fight with Pryor that year were Jose Resto and Johnny Summerhayes, with each losing by an eight-round unanimous decision.

After the fight with Summerhayes, Pryor won 26 fights in a row by knockout. This was one of the longest knockout streaks in the history of boxing and proof of Pryor's exceptional talent in the ring.

Pryor's last fight of 1979 was against former WBA light welterweight champion Alfonso "Peppermint" Frazer of Panama, where he was pitted against a former or future world champion for the first time in his professional career. Pryor knocked out Frazer in the fifth round, advancing his fight record to 20-0 with 18 knockouts, after which Pryor entered the WBA rankings.

On August 2, 1980, Pryor faced two-time world champion Antonio Cervantes of Colombia for the WBA light-welterweight championship. The fight took place in Pryor's hometown of Cincinnati and was nationally televised by the CBS network. Pryor was knocked down in round one, but he rose to the occasion and knocked out Cervantes in round four to become champion. He made his first title defense on November 22, 1980, knocking out Gaetan Hart in the sixth round.

Pryor had the chance to fight Sugar Ray Leonard for the WBC welterweight championship in December 1980 but rejected an offer of $500,000 because he wanted more money. When the WBC raised the offer to $750,000, he refused that as well.

Pryor signed to fight WBC light-welterweight champion Saoul Mamby in a unification bout for $1 million

Aaron Pryor Fight Record