Aaron Pryor - Professional Career

Professional Career

Pryor turned professional on November 11, 1976 with a second-round knockout of Larry Smith, for which he made $400. A few days later, Pryor signed a managerial contract with Buddy LaRosa, owner of LaRosa's Pizzeria.

Pryor fought eight times in 1977, winning all but two by knockout. The only two fighters who heard the final bell versus Pryor that year were Jose Resto and Johnny Summerhayes, each losing by an eight-round unanimous decision. After the fight with Summerhayes, Pryor won 26 fights in a row by knockout. It was one of the longest knockout streaks in the history of boxing.

In his last fight of 1979, Pryor was pitted for the first time ever against a former or future world champion when he faced former WBA junior welterweight champion Alfonso "Peppermint" Frazer of Panama. Pryor knocked him out in the fifth round, advancing his record to 20-0 with 18 knockouts. After defeating Fraser, Pryor entered the WBA rankings.

On August 2, 1980, Pryor faced two-time world champion Antonio Cervantes of Colombia for the WBA junior welterweight championship. His purse was $50,000. The fight took place in Pryor's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio and was nationally televised by CBS. Pryor was dropped in round one, but he rose 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 made $100,000 for the fight.

Pryor was offered $750,000 to fight Roberto Duran but turned it down because his new attorney told him not to sign anything until he worked out a new contract with LaRosa. By the time they worked out a new agreement, the chance to fight Duran was gone.

On June 27, 1981, Pryor knocked out Lennox Blackmore in the second round. He then defended the title against undefeated Dujuan Johnson on November 14, 1981. Johnson floored Pryor in the first round one, but Pryor came back to stop Johnson in the six round.

Pryor knocked out Miguel Montilla in the twelfth round on March 21, 1982. His next title defense was against the undefeated Akio Kameda of Japan. The fight took place on July 4, 1982. Once again, Pryor was knocked down in the first round but came back to score a sixth round knockout.

Pryor signed to face Sugar Ray Leonard for the undisputed welterweight championship in the fall of 1982. His purse was going to be $750,000. Pryor had previously been offered $500,000 to fight Leonard, but he turned it down.

Before fighting Pryor, Leonard first had to defend his title against Roger Stafford in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 1982. Pryor was on his way to Buffalo to taunt Leonard and help hype the fight when he heard on his car radio that Leonard had suffered a detached retina. "I pulled off to the side of the road and I cried," Pryor said. Leonard retired six months later.