Pryor not only took the rights without going down, he did so almost unflinchingly. He also had another surprise for Arguello: after establishing his ferocity in the early rounds, Pryor brilliantly mixed his power shots with stunningly effective jabbing and long-range boxing that kept Arguello guessing. His sharp punching opened a one-and-a-quarter inch cut on the corner of Arguello’s left eyelid and while his tactics won him many rounds, Arguello – the 12-to-5 favorite – landed just often enough to keep within sight on the scorecards. A brutally flush right cross midway through the 13th caused Pryor’s head to snap back violently, but once again the American champion remained upright.
Entering the 14th round of a pulsating punch-out, Pryor led by three points on two scorecards but trailed on the third by two points. Between rounds, Pryor’s chief second, Panama Lewis, repeated a process that had occurred several times in the fight. He ordered an assistant to give him a black bottle – ‘the one I mixed’ – and Pryor swallowed the contents instead of spitting them out. Ammonia capsules were also broken and waved under Pryor’s nose.
Pryor bolted from the corner at the start of the 14th and proceeded to deliver snappy combinations that defied the punishment he had absorbed in the previous 39 minutes of action. A volley capped by a violent right caused Arguello’s legs to buckle and force him back to the ropes. With his prey in a highly compromised state, ‘The Hawk’ swooped in and commenced a final assault highlighted by three flush rights that grotesquely whip-lashed Arguello’s neck. The 23-punch outburst caused the Nicaraguan great to slump semi-conscious against the ropes and slide onto the floor, where he would stay for several frightening minutes.
‘He’s a great champion,’ Pryor said after the fight. ‘I felt his power. He let me know he was in there. He taught me things. Do I feel like I stopped history? I can’t say that, because the man has already made history. He’s a three-time champion. I know of at least one surprise: My stomach was upset. One time we were in close and I burped. He stepped back and had this strange look on his face. I almost burst out laughing. But I think I surprised a lot of people. I proved I can box. And I proved I can go 14 rounds.’
But the media’s attention was split between the glory of Pryor’s win and the contents of the black bottle in his corner. Lewis and Pryor denied anything was amiss and cut man Artie Curley said the bottle contained peppermint schnapps to quiet the champion’s upset stomach. In the 2008 documentary Assault in the Ring, Luis Resto, who was also trained by Lewis, said the trainer poured the contents of broken antihistamine pills into the water, which he said gave Pryor enhanced lung capacity.
The fight was named the eighth greatest title fight of all-time by The Ring in 1996 and the magazine deemed Pryor-Arguello I the Fight of the Decade. But the cloud created by the black bottle sent Pryor into a tailspin of depression and substance abuse that would affect him for years to come. It also would create further justification for a rematch with Arguello. Five months after stopping former 140-pound titlist Sang-Hyun Kim in three rounds, Pryor and Arguello met for the second time at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Arguello said before the fight that he would ‘put the last drop of my blood into this fight’ and he did just that. He arose from knockdowns in the first and fourth rounds and on several occasions it appeared he had Pryor in trouble. But Arguello appeared to lose steam after being penalized a point for low blows in round eight and two rounds later a volley of punches dropped the Nicaraguan for the third time in the fight. As he sat on the floor Arguello was confronted not only with his fistic mortality but also the possibility that he could lose his life if he chose to get up.
‘I was pushing real hard,’ he said. ‘I was really hurt. I had nothing to do in the ring. I didn’t want to risk it.’
This time there was no black bottle to obscure the luminance of Pryor’s victory. But Pryor joined Arguello in announcing his retirement, saying he saw no worthy challenges on the immediate horizon.
But Pryor did fight on, though not with the same intensity and passion that characterized his peak. Stripped of his WBA belt, the newly formed IBF named Pryor their first champion. Nine months after the Arguello rematch, Pryor’s 26-fight knockout streak was ended by Canadian Nick Furlano and nine months after that he kept the belt by split decision against southpaw Gary Hinton. His body and spirit racked by addiction and his eyes clouded by retinal issues, Pryor fought just four more times. The first fight of that stretch was his only defeat, a bizarre seventh round KO loss to Bobby Joe Young. A right to the ear sent Pryor to the canvas and after vaulting to his feet and wobbling around for a few seconds, Pryor crossed himself, then took a knee, which was where he stayed until after referee Bernie Soto counted him out.
After scoring knockout wins over Herminio Morales, Darryl Jones and Roger Choate, Pryor retired with a record of 39-1 (35). But his battle with cocaine intensified to the point that he encountered trouble with the law and nearly lost his life.
But from the depths of addiction, Pryor rallied and finished life like a champion.
One major turning point was meeting Frankie Wagner in 1991, the woman he would marry 12 years later in Canastota. That same year he joined the New Friendship Baptist Church in Cincinnati and was named an associate minister in 1998. While splitting time between church and training young fighters (including son Aaron junior), Pryor was also honored for his own fistic deeds. He was enshrined in the IBHOF in 1996 and the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. The Associated Press also named Pryor the greatest junior welterweight of the century.
His activities outside the ring were also lauded. According to his web site, Pryor was named a Kentucky Colonel by then-Governor Paul Patton in 2000 for his community service and was also honored by the city of Cincinnati for those efforts. In December 2006 he was given a game ball by then-coach Eric Mangini following the Jets 26-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings for his motivational pre-game speech.
One of his greatest joys was his annual trip to the IBHOF induction weekend.
‘To see friends like Ray Leonard – that would have been a good fight – to see some of the older fighters who are still doing good in their lives, it’s exciting to go there,’ he told SecondsOut.com writer Paul Upham in 2003. ‘It’s like a birthday, like being born all over again. We have a parade and it’s like I never lost my title belt in the ring. A lot of people give me the same feeling I had when I was champion. There are a lot of people in recovery that are excited to see me because they can relate. I see Alexis Arguello up there and we talk and we all have a good time. Every time I see Joe Frazier my eyes light up like a little kid. I get the flashbacks of listening to his first fight with Muhammad Ali on the radio.
‘Everything in life now is a positive,’ he continued. ‘While boxing has really helped me, I don’t want to walk around thinking about my last fight. I don’t want to walk around thinking about the trouble I used to be in. I want to have good things on my mind and good things on my agenda.’
As the boxing world sits back and reflects on the life of Aaron Pryor, the good memories will far outweigh the bad. They’ll remember the tornadic, all-action style.
They’ll remember the pair of knockouts over fellow Hall-of-Famer Arguello. They’ll revel in the arguments about fantasy matchups involving Pryor against contemporaries Mancini and Leonard and greats from other eras such as Chavez, Pacquiao, Mayweather, De la Hoya and Whitaker. Best of all, those lucky enough to have met him at the Hall of Fame will recall his friendly manner, his willingness to sign autographs until the last person is satisfied and his down-to-earth persona. This was a man who emerged a champion inside the ring, and, though he stumbled at times, he came away as a champion outside the ropes as well.
‘The Hawk’ is no longer on earth in a physical sense, but his spirit may very well be soaring toward its heavenly destination. The Ring online article ‘A Tribute to ‘The Hawk’ Aaron Pryor
Aaron Pryor grew up in a dysfunctional home … ‘I was the kid nobody paid attention to.’ Hawk Time, ESPN
Pryor needed money but he was enjoying great success as an amateur fighter. ibid.
He fought future Hall-of-Fame legends in Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns, exchanging knockdowns with Leonard en route to losing a decision, and outpointing Hearns. ibid.
His new nickname was The Hawk because, ‘I’m a bird of prey, fast, ferocious, and I never surrender.’ ibid.
During the build-up for the Hart fight, Pryor began to display his unstable mental health in public for the first time. ibid.
Pryor’s secretary and girlfriend, Theresa Adams, shot him with a .22 caliber pistol; one bullet grazed his chest while another hit his right forearm. ibid.
Pryor v Arguello I: ‘I’ve never seen anything like it before.’ ibid. Sugar Ray Leonard commentary
Pryor v Auguello II: ‘He’s a living windmill. That’s what he is.’ ibid. fight commentary
His drug use was now fully documented. ibid.
32) Alexis Arguello I ***** TKO14: US Fight Commentary TV - Assault in the Ring 2008 -
v Alexis Arguello I 12th November 1982 Atlantic City Light- Welterweight [r1] … Pryor with the first punch; he scored with the right hand. Uptempo right from the opening bell … Uppercut [Pryor], left hand, another right hand … a lot of action … Arguello is hurt … [r2] … An uppercut sends Arguello reeling backward … Arguello is the consummate professional … Arguello fighting off the ropes very effectively … Pryor is still right on Arguello … [r3] … Both fighters headhunting early on … Arguello took a right hand from Pryor … A good clumping right hand [Arguello] … [r4] … Arguello takes a good right hand … Pryor with a left hand of his own … Overhand right at the bell [Arguello] … [r5] … A left hook by Arguello … Pryor of course has been aggressor since the opening bell … Takes the right hand from Arguello … Right hand by Arguello … [r6] Pryor again rushing off the stool … Pryor looks all business here … That hurt Arguello … And a good right hand by Pryor … [r7] … Pryor is picking up the pace here … It’s really impressive to see Aaron Pryor as a boxer … A good right hand [Pryor] right on the eye … A right hand might have hurt Pryor … [r8] … Pryor continues to work on the eye … A combination scores again [Pryor] … Arguello going downstairs, coming upstairs … [r9] … That’s a right hand from Arguello … After a big punch Pryor comes right back … A three-punch combination by Pryor … [r10] … They are showing championship quality … Uppercut by Arguello … [r11] … Pryor trying to work on the eye … There’s a right hand by Arguello … There’s a hard right hand by Arguello but Pryor does not take one step back … back with another overhand right … [r12] … Pryor off the stool … This fight is incredible … Left hand by Pryor … Pryor with a combination … Arguello with a right hand … Unbelievable … Pryor now … [r13] … Pryor forces the attack. Toe to toe! … Pryor leaning into his man now … There’s a right hand by Arguello … There is a right hand [Arguello] … There’s a good right hand by Pryor … Another tremendous round … [r14] … Combination by Pryor … Arguello in big trouble against the ropes … It’s over. Aaron Pryor has retained his Light-Welterweight championship! (Boxers: Pryor & Boxers: Arguello) US fight commentary
34) Alexis Arguello KO10: US Fight Commentary TV -
v Alexis Arguello II 9th September 1983 Las Vegas Light- Welterweight: [r1] ... Arguello’s down in the first round! ... Another right by Arguello, a left uppercut by Arguello, and back comes Pryor with a combination ... [r2] ... A right landed by Aaron Pryor ... That right snapped Arguello’s head back ... A crushing right hand by Alex Arguello ... Arguello is scoring now ... Round two going to Arguello ... [r3] ... Great right uppercut by Arguello ... Another right, he’s got Pryor on the ropes ... [r4] ... A beautiful flurry here by Aaron Pryor and Arguello is down ... It doesn’t look good for Alexis ... Where does he get that energy? ... What a tremendous fight, Steve ... Pryor will not step back ... He is a living windmill ... [r5] ... My God has he got power and full of energy ... [6] ... A war for the first five rounds and it might be turning into a tactical battle right now ... [r7] ... There’s a left by Arguello ... Those crisp punches are landing to the head of Arguello ... Beautiful right hand by Arguello ... [r8] ... Arguello has come to life but nothing seems to affect Pryor ... Tremendous comeback in this round by Argeullo ... [r9] ... Arguello opening up but Pryor is in too close ... It’s living up to its billing ... Toe to toe this war continues ... Arguello hits him again below the belt ... Aaron Pryor who possesses a seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy ... [r10] ... Combination by Pryor ... Another right cross dished out by Aaron Pryor ... Here goes Pryor again. Oh, what an uppercut to the chin of Arguello. Arguello’s in trouble. He’s down. That’s it! It’s all over! ... Aaron Pryor the fighter of the year has done it again. US fight commentary
Panama Lewis was no stranger to controversy when he worked Luis Resto’s corner in June of 1983. Seven months earlier he had come under suspicion during the championship bout between Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello. In between round TV microphones had picked up Panama in Pryor’s ordering assistant Artie Curley to pass him the water bottle and then suspiciously clarifying which bottle he meant … ‘Give me the other bottle, the one I mixed.’ Assault in the Ring aka Cornered: A Life in the Ring, HBO 2008