Aaron’s first bout of 1981 was on June 27 at the Hacienda Hotel in Las Vegas. I remember staying at that hotel in 1985 after I drove from Los Angeles on vacation. It was the first major hotel on the strip, and I was glad I had a chance to experience ‘old school’ Vegas. Pryor knocked out a guy named Lennox Blackmore in two rounds, and retained his WBA junior welterweight belt.
He returned to action five months late on November 14 at Public Hall in Cleveland against Dujuan Johnson. I was working at my first airline job at the time, and I would go out to my car on my dinner break, and watch stuff on my little 5″ black and white tv. This fight was on CBS, and I caught the action in my closed circuit automobile.
I vividly remember Aaron getting knocked down in the opening round, but getting up so quick it made my head spin. He took over the fight, outboxed and stopped Johnson in the seventh round. You couldn’t help but be impressed by Pryor’s lightning fast reflexes and punches, and his seemingly endless supply of stamina.
Four months later, he traveled to the Playboy Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City to take on Miguel Montilla. The March 21, 1982 contest saw Aaron win with a twelfth round stoppage. On July 4, he went back home to Cincinnati to knock out Akio Kameda in six rounds, setting up a huge date for the fall.
Pryor had agreed to meet the great Alexis Arguello, who was moving up in weight in attempt to become the first fighter to win titles in four separate weight divisions. The clash was set for November 12 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and would turn out to be an all-time classic, one in fact for the ages.
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