How Willie Pep Could Have Beaten Sandy Saddler More Than Once?

Years ago, I read an article by Jack Slack about how Sandy Saddler, despite having a good jab, was not much of a threat in the center of the ring as his offense was overwhelmingly on the inside. Saddler would cut off Pep's leftward lateral movement by throwing a right hook to the body. Couldn't Pep have neutralized that technique by doing a short step into the right hook to the body (so that Saddler's fist would go behind his back and thus have to travel more distance in order to land somewhere), catch/parry Saddler's right hook on his elbow by driving his elbow down on Saddler's arm, and then use that motion to load up a left hook to Saddler's now-exposed liver or to the head? There's a post on BoxingForum24 somewhere about this specific defense against the right hook to the body. Pep never tried it.

What say you? Do you think Saddler would have been capable of adjusting if Pep had used the technique described above?

 

It`s ya boy!

 

Which question are you answering?

 

He should have just tried it then, at least in the 4th fight after being 1-2

 

he had plenty of chances against Saddler, and got knocked out every time except once....
I've never understood why his lone victory is the one fight of the series that gets remembered most

 

He could've avoided Planes.

 

Well pep was making a very good account of him self in the 3rd fight (except for a knock down in the 3rd) but get his arm dislocated. I might be wrong but I think he was even ahead on points

 

Yeah, he got trapped eventually. Do you think Pep using the defense and counter technique I described above would have been enough to give him another win against Saddler?

 

Sandy Saddler is the absolute worst style for Pep and the fact Pep took a W off him really speaks to Peps skill. Sandy didn't care about anything but grabbing a collar tie and uppercutting Pep's jaw to the stands. He refused to think play or box with Pep and tbh that's the only way you gameplan for Pep. Saddler was just tough and strong enough to do that to almost anyone. BTW Jack Slack is why I became a boxing writer. He's the only sports writer I've ever actually followed.

 

For a younger pre plane crash pep it could have. But saddler is always going to be be a stylistic nightmare for pep and hed really have to work for that other win

 

You should’ve trained Pep.

 

Prime pep schools him!

 

LOL. Pep wasn’t crippled.

Find me any account of Pep going into the fight Saddler fight where they talk about what a pitiful shell of himself he has become. He loses (and continues winning over the course of years when not fighting someone named Sandy Saddler” and all of a sudden he’s sitting on a street corner with a tin cup, barely able to stand up.

The fight he did win is all he evidence we need that Pep was still a viable, world-class, championship-level fighter during this span. But we’re going to pretend him getting stopped THREE TIMES by Saddler means on those specific nights, and those alone somehow, he was a broken-down husk.

People should have had to pay Sandy even to say hello to Willie, because Sandy absolutely OWNED him.