Pryor and Hearns Fight Tonight

Image details: Ronald Hearns v Robert Kamya served by picapp.com

That’s a headline bound to make any fight fan drool. Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor versus Thomas “Hitman” Hearns. Sadly, a professional rematch of Pryor’s 1976 light welterweight Golden Gloves victory over Hearns never happened. That’s not to say we won’t see those two last names on a title fight marquee sometime in the future.

Tonight at the San Manuel Casino in Highland, Calif. the scions of those two greats, Aaron Pryor, Jr. and Ronald “The Chosen One” Hearns, continue their path to boxing stardom. Interestingly, the two 29-year-olds have taken strikingly similar routes: both were initially dissuaded from the sport by their fathers, both took up basketball eventually earning college hoops scholarships, both couldn’t resist the genetic urge of the sweet science, both earnestly asked for their famous father’s blessing, both then trained at Detroit’s Kronk gym, and both are currently still undefeated.

Both are also expected to sail through tonight’s matches and achieve bigger and better things. The 6′3″ light middleweight Hearns (18-0) faces San Manuel casino regular Alan Velasco (8-1) while the 6′4 1/2″ middleweight Pryor (9-0) squares off against Puerto Rican Devin Lopez (7-2).

The San Manuel Casino is also promoting appearances tonight by heavyweight great Joe Frazier as well as Thomas Hearns. No word on the Hawk. Let’s hope that young Pryor and Hearns avoid the career ignominy of Frazier’s son Marvis who is best known for dual first round knockouts at the hands of Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes.

If you’re in the San Bernardino area tonight fight tickets are $50, $75, and $100. Doors open at 6:30.