Look Pep was a great fighter, all the fights other then the first were very competitive but Wille was the one listed up and had to stop inside the distance and that was what it was .. maybe he wasn't the fighter he was before the accident but we can only go on what happened in the ring and unlike ridiculous comparisons to Norris vs Leonard one fighter was not an old man.
Pep was 26-28 years old when he fought Saddler. Hard to gauge the injuries as we really dont know, but bottom line, he lost 3 of 4, and got KO'd. Saddler has to be higher.
Funny, I was rewatching the film that I have access too and as usual the type of fight the ref allows dictates a lot .. in the fourth fight Sadler endlessly held Pep with one arm and pounded him with the other .. not just a few times but all fight .. I'm fairly sure the fight was extremely close when the fight was stopped on cuts so that one is inconclusive. The third fight seems to have been really stopped on an injury as well so there is a lot about this to think through .. does anyone now the scorecards of the third and fourth bouts at the time of the stoppages ? I"m also curious if Pep at 27 and 28 was slightly past his prime .. I can see a case for these guys being very, very close depending on the ref and the fight he allows ..
Pep vs Saddler 3 Referee: Ruby Goldstein 5-2 Judge: Young Otto 5-2 Judge: Frank Forbes 4-2 Saddler vs Pep 4 Referee Ray Miller had Pep ahead 5-4 on rounds and 10-6 on points. Judge Frank Forbes had Saddler in front 5-4 on rounds and 7-5 on points. Judge Arthur Aidala had it 4-4-1 on rounds, but he favored Pep 8-6 on points.
The quote from SuzieQ49 is from Burt Beinstock, a prolific poster on this forum in years past. He saw Willie live in 1943, and he saw him on TV in Saddler vs Pep 2 in 1949. He was of the firm opinion precrash Pep would defeat Saddler.
I respect Burt. But I want to see some accounts of Pep’s slippage written before Saddler beat him and experts saying that Saddler would likely beat this once-legendary guy who was now a shell of himself. Look at what he did post-crash ... and post-Saddler. Sandy was his kryptonite.
"Despite being severely injured in a plane crash on January 5, Pep fought 10 bouts in 1947, again going undefeated. Many thought he had lost something as a fighter, especially after unexpectedly struggling in fights against Archie Wilmer (Pep won a majority decision) and Pedro Biesca (Pep was floored in the fourth round). He defended the world featherweight belt once that year, knocking out Jock Leslie in twelve rounds at Flint, Michigan." Tried to find the sources with no luck, but perhaps this from Wikipedia is suggestive.
Saddler’s top three wins are over Pep. Not really any avoiding this for those who side with Pep as the greatest ever in the division.