Former junior welterweight boxing champion, and one-half of one of the most electrifying fights of all time, Aaron Pryor, has died after a long fight with heart disease.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Pryor was surrounded by his family when he died Sunday.
Pryor told friends when he was just a teen that he would be a world champion. Not only did Pryor fulfill his promise, but he also amassed a 39-1 record and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, CBS Sports reports.
Pryor would bring home a silver medal in the 1975 Pan Am Games before turning pro. Four years later, he would win the WBA super lightweight title, knocking out Antonio Cervantes in the fourth round. Pryor would hold this belt for four years before moving up to the junior welterweight division, where he beat Canadian Nick Furlando by unanimous decision to claim the IBF crown, CBS Sports reports.
In 1982 Pryor battled Alexis Arguello in easily one of the best fights of all time. For 14 rounds, both men threw as many punches as they received, and in the end, Pryor dropped Arguello in the 14th round.
Pryor would suffer his only loss to Bobby Young, in 1987, by TKO. Pryor would win three more fights before he retired later that year.
Read more at the Cincinnati Enquirer and CBS Sports.