Biggest waste of talent: Riddick Bowe or Aaron Pryor?

[$.02]

These two guys had everything but they NEVER fulfilled there True potential.

If you had to chose one of these two, which one would it be and why?

I would have to go with Aaron Pryor. He had EVERYTHING and in my opinion could have went all the way up to middleweight. Keep in mind during that time perioD There big fights for him with Hearns , cuerves leonard among others. He had all the tools. Head to head i see No one beating him at 140lbs.

Riddick bowe in my opinion is another waste of talent. He robbed the 90's of being trulyspectacular. He was the missing link that would have made the 90's heavyweight division just as good as the 70's.

Just imagine if he were to fight Tyson, Lewis, Foreman, Tua, and others?

[dmille]

There have been many that were just as big or bigger wastes than those two.

How about most of the heavyweight division during the 80s? Page, Tubbs, Tucker, Smith, Witherspoon, Thomas...

[heehoo]

Witherspoon in my view.

5rN8jL3ylPU

[Bad_Intentions]

Aaron Pryor

Became a big time drug seller/addict from the mid 80's all the way through the early 90's, after he retired he still continue to use drugs.

Drugs fucked his abilities/talent (a good example of pryor's drug problems watch his fight against bobby joe young).

[RockyJim]

Pryor..without a doubt...

[rekcutnevets]

I don't know if either of these guys were wasted talents. They did become world champions. If they had wasted their talent, you wouldn't know who they are. They did squander and miss some opportunities.

Pryor never faced Leonard or Duran. Missing those fights are not entirely Pryor's fault, but are missed opportunities to have further proved himself.

Riddick Bowe never faced Lewis or Tyson. Not facing Lewis is more of his own doings than not facing Tyson.

Both Bowe and Pryor have squandered large sums of money.

[MRBILL]

Bowe made more money than Pryor, and Bowe was also a bigger bust...... Bowe was already lazy and slipping by 1993 at age 26......... At least Aaron Pryor was already 30 years old in 1985 when he looked rusty and faded against Gary Hinton on TV..... By the time Pryor got officially TKO'd, he was 32 and bloated at 148 lbs. for Bobby Joe Young.... Riddick Bowe looked shot at age 29 against Andy Golota in 1996.......

MR.BILL

[MRBILL]

Bowe made more money than Pryor, and Bowe was also a bigger bust...... Bowe was already lazy and slipping by 1993 at age 26......... At least Aaron Pryor was already 30 years old in 1985 when he looked rusty and faded against Gary Hinton on TV..... By the time Pryor got officially TKO'd, he was 32 and bloated at 148 lbs. for Bobby Joe Young.... Riddick Bowe looked shot at age 29 against Andy Golota in 1996.......

MR.BILL

P.S.

Pryor is a "Haller," while Bowe is still hoping....:deal

[sandwedge]

Bowe imo.

[ChrisPontius]

I'm not sure if Pryor had all that much as some are suggesting. Him making it all the way up to middleweight? I'd give him a very, very slim chance against Leonard and Hearns and that's just 147. A former super featherweight gave him plenty of trouble.

Same with Bowe. He had a style that included getting hit. A lot. He was never going to have a long career, fridge addiction or not. In fact, you could argue that he was somewhat lucky to win the Holyfield rubber match because the latter just broke down but seemed to have figured Bowe out since their 2nd fight and was in complete control when he was actually throwing punches. Nearly stopped him still, in the 6th. Holyfield was Foreman's Frazier, in that he made him what he was. What if Bowe got along when Tyson was ruling, or Lennox (assuming he fights him?). Now that i think about it, Bowe's career may have been as good as it gets the way it is.

[slicksouthpaw16]

Well Pryor already accomplished enough to be in the hall of fame where as Bowe beat one great fighter, and had a down hill career since then. If he would have kept in shape and been consistent, then he would have been considered great because clearly he had every tool to be dominant.

[TBooze]

Well at 300lbs+ it is clearly Bowe against a 140-150lber in Pryor!;)


Seriously Pryor teased us with brilliance against Arguello, only to throw it all away, up his nose. Bowe had demons from the Olympics onwards, I expected nothing else from Riddick.

[Thread Stealer]

These two guys had everything but they NEVER fulfilled there True potential.

If you had to chose one of these two, which one would it be and why?

I would have to go with Aaron Pryor. He had EVERYTHING and in my opinion could have went all the way up to middleweight. Keep in mind during that time perioD There big fights for him with Hearns , cuerves leonard among others. He had all the tools. Head to head i see No one beating him at 140lbs.

Riddick bowe in my opinion is another waste of talent. He robbed the 90's of being trulyspectacular. He was the missing link that would have made the 90's heavyweight division just as good as the 70's.

Just imagine if he were to fight Tyson, Lewis, Foreman, Tua, and others?

Pryor at middleweight? He would've most likely lost to those terrific WWs if he'd moved up. Hearns-Pryor at 147 as professionals? Hearns would've wasted Pryor in ugly fashion. Pryor most likely would've lost to Leonard at 147 too, but never got the fight (actually, he wanted more than the $500,000 he was offered from Leonard's camp). Pryor achieved more than Bowe, but was also a better fighter than Bowe. So it's debatable as to who squandered more ability.

[COULDHAVEBEEN]

Pryor at middleweight? He would've most likely lost to those terrific WWs if he'd moved up....

I share your view.

[mr. magoo]

Outside of the necessity to show up a few pounds lighter for some of his fights, I think Riddick Bowe pretty much reached his full talant capacity. Prior on the hand, ruined his his career with drug use and the usual kind of street life that some of these guys never grow apart from even when they hit the top. Aaron could have been the next Robinson.

[PowerPuncher]

Pryor, Bowe would have been smashed by Lennox if he stepped up anyway

[rodney]

Riddick Bowe didnt come close to Aaron Pryor in the talent department.
The only comparison was their self-destructive lifestyle which shortened their careers.

[MAG1965]

Riddick Bowe

[DRMULLEN]

on pryor, with or without that black bottle..DRMULLEN.

[leverage]

Bowe, imo, was a bigger waste of talent tha pryor because he could have ruled his division for years had he been dedicated to training. He had all of the physical atrributes needed to beat any size opponent, as well as the skills. He could fight inside as well as outside. He just loved food too much and didn't like to train.

Pryor on the other hand, did possess talent and stamina ( which was enhanced in certain fights with illegal substances). He would never have been a long term champion, however, because once he started slowing down he would have become more venerable because of hi kamakaze style and his wide open defense. He would no longer be able to overwhelm his opponents the way he did.

So bowe's talent was wasted because of food and pryors because of cocaine, crack, and style. Bowe had much more long term potential than pryor.

[albinored]

sorry, pryor fans, but aaron actually get farther than his talents would have taken him. built up early wins, lucky to be at that weight at that time, and ilegal corner work in BOTH arguello fights took him to a perch where he did not belong.

[leverage]

sorry, pryor fans, but aaron actually get farther than his talents would have taken him. built up early wins, lucky to be at that weight at that time, and ilegal corner work in BOTH arguello fights took him to a perch where he did not belong.
Thanks a lot for being a voice of reason and telling it like it really is. I really hate it when any athlete reaches the top by illegitimate means. Pryor had a crook for a trainer (panama lewis) who took the stuffing from luis restos gloves, and effectively ended the career of his opponent (Billy Collins) who later commited suicide.

I also hold pryor responsible for this because it showed that he was dishonest and didn't care how he won. If he had any respect for the sport of boxing he would not have resorted to cheating to win. As far as I'm concerned, those wins against arquello were higkly tainted.

[FromWithin]

Bowe, imo, was a bigger waste of talent tha pryor because he could have ruled his division for years had he been dedicated to training. He had all of the physical atrributes needed to beat any size opponent, as well as the skills. He could fight inside as well as outside. He just loved food too much and didn't like to train.

Pryor on the other hand, did possess talent and stamina ( which was enhanced in certain fights with illegal substances). He would never have been a long term champion, however, because once he started slowing down he would have become more venerable because of hi kamakaze style and his wide open defense. He would no longer be able to overwhelm his opponents the way he did.

So bowe's talent was wasted because of food and pryors because of cocaine, crack, and style. Bowe had much more long term potential than pryor.


But Bowe wouldn't? Bowe was also there to get hit...

[leverage]

But Bowe wouldn't? Bowe was also there to get hit...
I'm not saying that bowe was a defensive genious because he wasn't, but what I am saying is that his style is much more suitable for longevity than pryors.

[ThinBlack]

Probably Aaron Pryor, even with the Arguello wins, he could've done more at 140.But there was no way he was beating McCrory, Curry, or Starling.Bowe probably could've achieved slightly more, but not a whole lot.In some ways, not fighting Lennox hurt him.

[Tin Man Waldo]

Bowe could of been a top 5 atg @heavy w/o fast food. :verysad

[Boxed Ears]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Tin Man Waldo]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

what do thiss mean boxed ears your posts rarely ever almost never make sense