Pryor has impressive pro ring r sum , but he regrets not being in Olympics

Ohioan Rau’shee Warren can return from Beijing with some gold.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Aaron Pryor reached boxing heights as a world champion in the 1980s and later as a Hall of Fame member. But he has one regret.

He never got to box in the Olympics.

“I know I could have won a gold medal,” Pryor said. Now, Pryor will be watching the 2008 Olympics to see if fellow Cincinnatian Rau’shee Warren can come back from China with some gold to add to Ohio’s rich boxing legacy.

Warren, a flyweight (112 pounds) contender, will be joined by featherweight (125 pounds) Raynell Williams from Cleveland on the U.S. boxing team.

They’re among more than two dozen Ohioans representing the United States in Beijing, including LeBron James on the men’s basketball team, former Ohio State star Katie Smith on the women’s basketball team and Heather Mitts of Cincinnati on the soccer team.

At 21, Warren — known as Newt — is the veteran of the U.S. boxing team and among America’s top medal hopefuls. A rare two-time Olympic boxer who fought at 106 pounds in 2004, he was the youngest member of the U.S. boxing team in Athens.

“He’s just as quick as he was, but he’s knocked out several people since then,” said Martha Smith, who was one of the first women to be certified as a boxing judge. “He’s fascinating to watch; he’s a natural.”

Pryor has worked with him and, like many experts, rates his chances very high.

“The Olympics makes a difference in your whole life,” Pryor said. “To come back with nothing, that’s not a good thing. This time he has the experience.”

In an era when a successful Olympic boxer can earn big bucks as a pro, Warren is the first American boxer to return for a second consecutive Olympics since Davey Armstrong in 1976 — the year Pryor got passed over for the team.

“I really felt this was best for me,” Warren said. “I was so young and people at that age do not usually get to the Olympics, which you expect can be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I had the chance to maybe make it another time.”

Williams, a math whiz, worked in the Cuyahoga County recorder’s office, preparing for a possible career in accounting or money management before moving to Colorado Springs for USA Boxing’s new residency program.

“Boxing is a part of my life,” Williams said. “It’s in my blood, and I’m going to do it as long as I can, but after that I want to be ready for the rest of life.”

Ohioans who have boxed in the Olympics include Ricardo Williams Jr., of Cincinnati, the 2000 Olympic silver medalist; flyweight Tim Austin of Cincinnati, who won the bronze medal in 1992; and Jerry Page of Hilliard, who won the light-welterweight gold medal in 1984.

At 53, Pryor says he’s been clean for 16 years, after a nine-year cocaine addiction that drained the millions he made as a pro and led him into scrapes with the law.

The wild young fighter who charged out of his corner to pummel opponents is soft-spoken now. He is an associate pastor at New Friendship Baptist Church, and sometimes takes to the pulpit.

Pryor lives modestly on his appearance fees, promotions and residuals from use of his persona on Play Station games and boxing cards.

“I’m living the good life,” Pryor said. “I used to be mad; I’m not mad any more. I went through some ups and downs. I’m lucky to be here.”