Boxing legend Aaron Pryor had a lot of respect for tennis and compared the sport to boxing
Before his death in 2016, two-time world boxing champion Aaron Pryor revealed his love for the game of tennis.
You would think the two sports of boxing and tennis couldn't be any further apart, but there are a few similarites in that the player is sent out to battle all on their own and the competition is incredibly demanding and gruelling for both opponents, who have to impose their will on each other to get the win.
Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, the 'Hawk', best known for his two dramatic knockout wins over Alexis Arguello, 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,” the former World super-lightweight champion told Tennis Prose at the time. “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.”
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Pryor has always been a fan going back “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.
“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.”
Unbeaten until his 37th pro fight, the Cincinnati combatant also said, “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 Alexis Arguello twice visited the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon.
“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. “Wimbledon,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.”
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Pryor even attempted to test his athletic skills on the tennis court when he was still alive, “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. 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.”
Pryor sadly passed away on October 9, 2016, after suffering from heart disease. Before his untimely death, Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor was voted as the Greatest Light Welterweight in boxing history by the Houston Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014. The HBHOF is a voting body composed entirely of current and former fighters.