The OtherArena

[guren]

When I was young, I loved boxing. I have been around long enough to remember when there were notable boxing matches several times a year, involving greats like Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Sugar Ray Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Boom Boom Mancini, Chavez, Roy Jones Jr., Hector Camacho, et al. There were so many great fighters and so many memorable fights. I still remember the first Leonard vs Hearns fight was such a big event that about 10 of my high school friends watched the fight at a female friends house with her father and a half dozen of his friends.

I bring this up because I saw that Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor passed away today. Of all the great fights I saw in my youth, his performance in the first fight against Alexis Arguello is the one that always sticks out. He was a relentless punching machine for 14 straight rounds and he was somehow able to turn up his energy when he had Arguello in trouble. When I heard the news, I went straight to YouTube to re-watch the end of that match and the re-match.

Thinking about Pryor also reminded me of the TV competition called the Superstars that used to air on ABC. Pryor competed in the 1983 event. This was a made for TV competition that pitted athletes from various sports in events such as swimming, bowling, golf, tennis, etc. I remember that Pryor competed in the 100 yard dash, and when he was announced he gave his customary hawk gesture with his arm. Then he proceeded to jog the 100 yards and finished dead last a wide margin. Aaron Pryor was number one and the best.

Rest in peace Hawk.

glenn

[jdw]

Good post, Glenn.

The first Pryor vs Arguello was just insane as Alexis was hitting him with some stuff that would stop a truck, and Pryor just kept coming on to put a hurt on him. We know some of the reasons for it, and in time it was clear there was something tragic about Aaron. :(