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Boxing legend Aaron Pryor talks about his respect for tennis and his visit to Wimbledon
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The former boxing champion Aaron Pryor, best known for his two dramatic knockout wins over Alexis Arguello, was in New Jersey helping prepare his son Aaron Jr. for his next match which will be in Philadelphia on June 13. I told Aaron Pryor, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, about an analogy made by the famous tennis journalist Richard Pagliaro which compared the playing style of Serena Williams to the relentless boxing style of Pryor. Pryor, now 55, seemed touched and a bit proud to be remembered and compared to a modern champion like Serena Williams, and revealed that he actually has a considerable respect and appreciation for the sport of tennis.
“Well I’ve watched tennis, especially when I was in training. I like the competitive aspect of it, when they’re competing out there,” says the former World Junior Welterweight champion who retired with a record of 39-1 with 35 KO’s. “I’m watching it and getting a kick out of watching it. I get a kick out of watching them compete. It’s almost like a boxing match, because both people are trying their best to get the ball over there, into the right spot. And that takes a lot of hustling. A lot of hustling. I love it. I love it. I bet I could be a good player if I played.”
Pryor says he first became attracted to tennis, “Years ago, when I was young. It may have a lot to do with not ever wanting to fight a player like that. They seemed to be in the kind of condition that a boxer be in. They run, they exercise all day all the time. Just what a boxer does – run and exercise. But it’s just like boxing to me, going back and forth. Out of this world.”
Which players caught your eye? “What caught my eye is anybody that was good, says the world renowned 5-ft., 6-in. gladiator who keeps himself in good condition. “Even today. I just watch them play. Don’t ask me who the good players are ’cause I can’t tell you that. But I can say if I see them, who they are. I know Venus Williams and her sister Serena of course, the great stars that stick out.”
When asked if any tennis player reminds him of himself, the man who was unbeaten until his 37th pro fight (his only defeat was to journeyman Bobby Joe Young after a layoff and drug abuse problems): “Mainly the Williams sisters remind me of me, both those girls. They will not give up for nothing in the world,” he says. “Those girls will go down playing. I’ve seen both those girls fall down tired. And just couldn’t give up. That’s giving yourself, that’s giving your all. So I like that when I watch that. It’s like boxing – you’ve got to give it your all. Give it your all. Fall down. Get up. I like that. I like that – when a person give it their all.”
The man who defeated the likes of Antonio Cervantes, Lennox Blackmoore, Gaetan Hart, Akio Kameda, Dujuan Johnson, Gary Hinton, Miguel Montilla, Nicky Furlano and Sang Hyun Kin, has visited the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. “Never been to one live,” he recalls. “I’ve been into a tennis court when everybody’s gone after the game, actually kinda nosin’ around, kinda get a feel for the place.” At the Cincinnati tournament, I ask (Pryor was born and still resides in Cincinnati)? “Wimbledon,” The Hawk corrects. “Where they play Wimbledon. I was just curious to get in there. It’s beautiful. It reminds me of the horse racing track Churchill Downs. It reminds of a race track with all the stubs and stuff fall on the ground after the match. This was a few years back when I was traveling. It was during the tournament time, they played. I love the way they play, it was so awesome to be there to see where they play.”
Pryor even attempted to test his athletic skills on the tennis court. “I tried to play. I tried to play [smiles]. As an athlete, we can do anything we really want to do. I played, but not like they play. I hit that ball hard, that ball is not going over there over the net. It’s going out. You just gotta hit it right. You can hit it hard. But you gotta know where you’re hitting it hard at. You gotta control that ball like I can control a speed bag. They control that ball. They do (Aaron simulates tennis strokes) backward (backhand), foreward (forehand), downward (overhead/serves), crossward, I mean, they be doing everything that a boxer be doing out there playing tennis.”
The appeal of tennis? “Competing. One on one competition.” A spark seems to light inside the legend of The Sweet Science. “Wooooooo, one on one competition is always exciting. I miss it so much, because I’ve been retired for 15-20 years. If I could compete again – that’s what had me dreaming – to get in the kind of shape you’re supposed to be in for a fight. It’s all about condition.”
(Note: Aaron Pryor passed away on Oct 9 2016 at age 61.)
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Ed S. · June 3, 2010 at 12:30 pm
that is interesting.i vividly remember Pryor’s fights in the 80’s i’m glad he’s ok…there are so many similarities in both sports..i remember reading several years ago that Sugar Ray Leonard took a lot of lessons..Michael Jordan too
Richard Pagliaro · June 3, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Scoop, well done. I am a huge fan of the Hawk! He was relentless, a warrior. Loved watching him. He had so much spirit and threw punches with purpose from so many different angles. One of the right-handed few guys of his size who could throw a straight right hand without first setting it up with the jab. I loved that about him: he defied convention and fought from the heart.