Читать книгу Sporting Blood. Tales from the Dark Side of Boxing онлайн

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After losing a decision to Howard Davis Jr., in an Olympic trials box-off in 1976, Pryor returned to Cincinnati at loose ends. That same year, he made his debut, as a late substitute, and earned a payday of $400 against an ex-kickboxer. By contrast, Davis Jr., had a contract from CBS in hand worth nearly $300,000 before he had ever stepped into a pro ring. The TV gold rush had begun, and Pryor had no chance to stake a claim. Soon Pryor became the hired help—as a sparring partner—for the stars who had left him behind: Davis and Sugar Ray Leonard.

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Not long after signing Pryor to an exclusive deal, Madison Square Garden—in those days one of the top promotional firms on the East Coast—called a press conference to announce that “The Hawk,” then a lightweight, could not get a meaningful fight. So in 1980 Pryor turned to the Robin Hood of prizefighting, Harold Smith, for help. Smith, with money embezzled from Wells Fargo, managed to lure WBA super-welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes to Cincinnati, where Pryor rebounded from an early knockdown to overwhelm and eventually stop the defending champion, who had as many successful title defenses under his belt as Pryor had fights.