Did Willie Pep lack heart?

good parallel.i never think of you know what when i think of duran.i think of him slipping punches and snarling his way to victory.

 

ken buchanan will never forget him, thats for sure.

 

Perfect example of heart to me is Joe Frazier picking himself up off the canvas against Foreman. And then fighting a rematch.

 

It shows their character and boxing is about character. But there is stuff to back it up in the ring, like Siki had balls and double crossed Carpientier after agreeing to fix it. Williams was a tough as hell fighter and proven. And Pep won the rematch with Saddler. My boys Barney Ross fought anyone and showed grit and Arguello fought in a war and as we all know a warrior.

I think it can be used to back up what we already know.

Now I am not going to call a fighter a coward but there is certain fighters I do not think could have done what say Barney Ross did in WWII. Not through being cowards just not being as brave and ballsy as Ross, say.

Good post.

It was more akin to Arguello vs Pryor II, not much to criticize. Think Vasquez vs Marquez II or something like that, Vasquez was hardly slaughtered for it was he?

Don't go there.

 

joe didn't lack balls.thats a fact

 

i hated duran for years because of that.

 

i've always tried to emphasise that as well.heart isn't a constant for most fighters.

Duran, barrera, Benn...all show this.

 

Good question. What Barney Ross did at Guadalcanal, then again in beating his morphine addiction, raises some questions about what it might have taken to stop him in the ring. (By today's diminished standards of heroism, Ross would get a Medal of Honor. That he "only" received a third rate Silver Star says something about those who did get the highest awards for combat valor in WW II.)

Dempsey never gave up against Tunney, despite taking a frightful beating in 19 out of 20 rounds, and he showed some guts under fire at Okinawa. However, Jack also had the punch to turn any match in his favor at any time, as he showed when he decked Tunney. Against Armstrong, Ross didn't have that punch, yet he never gave in.

 

lew jenkins did similar when he volunteered for service to fight in korea afterhe landed soldiers on the beaches from his landing craft in the second world war.

jenkins got stopped 12 or so times but most of the time he was in no condition to fight or simply giving away too much weight

 

I'm meaning the first fight where Vasquez quits because of his nose.

It was a rough and tumble fight he was taking punishment and had dislocated his shoulder and was fighting the hardest hitting Featherweight ever. Vitali could have continued and beaten Byrd that is conceivable he was well ahead and in no real danger, whereas Arguello and Pep were.