Here is a new topic that I am ripping off from someone, not sure who, but I am sure someone has done this before. We will be taking a look at present fighters and how they would match up against those of yesteryear.
We will look at the Junior Welterweight Division, which presently has the undefeated Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton at 40-0, with 30 KOs, against a fighter that may not be a household name now, but was on top of the boxing world in the mid 80’s, Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor.
Pryor finished his career 39-1, with 35 KOs; his one loss coming after he returned from retirement. Hatton, regarded as one of the most exciting fighters today, already has more wins than “The Hawk.” However, he may be at a disadvantage, when comparing, because he has never fought outside of England, and has only fought 3 fighters in the top 20 rankings. Hatton didn’t have an extensive amateur career either, compared to Pryor, who fought 220 amateur fights winning 204 of them.
Let’s now compare the biggest fights of their careers: for Hatton, the 11th round TKO of future Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu (pronounced “Zoo”), which was an amazing fight, though the officiating was a bit questionable. For Aaron Pryor, who had two classic battles with Alexis Arguello, who at the time of the fight had a record of 77-5. The first bout between these two power punchers, won by KO in the 14th round by Pryor, not only won fight of the year, but fight of the decade as well. Hatton has potential to be a great boxer. He just needs to go after competition that will make a name for himself, and take chances. He certainly has the skills, he just needs to put them to work. Back to Aaron, who is best known for an unbelievable statistic that defies anyone in boxing today to match, which is 26 consecutive KOs.
Here comes the money shot of the article: who would win this fight, Hatton today, or Pryor in his prime?
This seems to be an easy statement for any boxing fan who has witnessed both fighters in their lifetime. Aaron Pryor would embarrass Ricky Hatton today. Pryor not only fought bouts that were scheduled for 15 rounds, but fought stiffer competition against crowds that despised him. Hatton has only fought one dangerous fighter, who was coming off an injury, aging, and had the crowd in his favor 100%. Hatton has been down in his career and early in fights. Pryor would expose this, with his power in both hands and sturdy chin. This would be an extremely exciting fight but I would say hands down that Pryor would win by KO in the 8th round, if not sooner.
Pryor was forced to retire due to extreme damage to his eyes. He now has a gym in Cincinnati, Ohio, but deserves the respect and admiration of boxing fans around the world. I would like to conclude this article by saying that I am not a Hatton hater, but wish him the best in his future U.S. tour, and feel he can be a hall of fame fighter if he continues to pound out victories against quality opponents.
-Rokk
