Excellent 140 lb fighter in his prime, but a short peak due to drugs and also probably his whirlwind style. He had a very herky jerky style, and relentless energy. His stamina was among the best I’ve seen, as he not only had a great workrate, but he just seemed to always be in perpetual motion.
There’s a couple of old SI articles you can read about him at the times. He had a crazy life.
The Champion Of Confusion
KO'd By His Demons
The whole thing about the big name WWs avoiding him gets overblown, probably due to that HBO doc in the early 00s. Anyone can call someone out in an interview or press conference, we all know that fights are really made at the negotiating table. Pryor declined a fight with Leonard for half a million because he wanted more money, and fought Lennox Blackmore instead. On one hand you can say it was a lowball offer, but Pryor had made about 1/10th of that for beating a great aged champ in Cervantes, and he wasn’t an established draw or name, he had just won the title. Ray was a diva, he started off with the same half million offer for Duran in Montreal, and Duran had been champ since 72’ and was very popular.
A fight with Duran was also in the works, but Pryor had a bunch of managerial issues that messed it up. Pryor’s manager got arrested for embezzlement.
Pryor also got shot by his wife in a domestic dispute in the middle of his prime.
He was more avoided at 135, he was highly ranked by The Ring in the early 80s at both 135 and 140, and won his title at 140. I assume he could have got back down to 135 if he needed to. I really doubt the management of lightweight champions like Sean O’ Grady or Ray Mancini would have let their guys anywhere near Pryor
