Did Willie Pep lack heart?

But McGrain of the footage we have Pep looks the superior fighter.

 

Saddler is stylistically about as tough an opponent as it gets for Pep. I may be biased though because I think Saddler looks rather crude on film and not really a top all-time great talent like Pep, certainly nowhere near top 10 pound for pound in my books. Perhaps he had Pep's number but he was well beatable in my opinion.

 

Even in the film we have with them together, Pep looks superior and gets the better of it.

He is tough but I think a prime Pep would beat him.

The first fight would be the easiest for Pep to lose because of the awkwardness of Saddler to get used to.

 

I agree. However, there were 5 more rounds to go. Pep would have had to dig a lot deeper in my opinion. In a 10 round bout, after having adjusted to Saddler's tactics, there's really no question in my mind that Pep beats Saddler almost every time. Pep could have probably gone 10 with the cut eye, perhaps even the arm injury. It's just that with more than 5 rounds to go, and knowing that Saddler is one of the most well-conditioned, roughest and toughest featherweights there has ever been, he probably felt that he could not muster up such an effort again.

Even in the second fight, both of Pep's eyes were swollen shut and he was bleeding all over the place. But it was mainly Saddler's rough-housing that did the damage on Pep, not the landed punches. That's why I struggle to give Saddler too much credit for the wins.

 

It is odd. Pep to me shows the way to beat Saddler but loses and Saddler wins but does not show the way to beat Pep so to speak. If you know what I'm getting at.

 

I don't necessarily penalize fighters for rough tactics, after all Pep himself wasn't the cleanest fighter himself. It's just that in this case I feel the rough-housing almost directly led to the result instead of Saddler's superior boxing ability. The arm injury was seemingly caused by Saddler continually locking up Pep with one of his arms while belting him with the other, and the cut eye was said to have been caused by headbutts/possibly lacing. Against "Flash" Elorde, we see Saddler constantly using the head to "work" on Elorde's cut, which leads to the stoppage.

It's not quite like knocking down an opponent with a clear low blow, but not quite like KO'ing them in dominating fashion either.

 

Well, I just can't agree with that. How much credit does for example Antwun Echols get if he were to go unpunished for slamming Hopkins on the canvas with Hopkins suffering an injury to the extent of not being able to continue? That's basically what happened in the third Saddler-Pep fight, Saddler had Pep in an armlock which caused an injury.

I also disagree that Saddler "dominated" the series, he did go 3-1, but was losing in the third and fourth fights until "rallying" to win, and he did lose the second fight to Pep in decisive fashion. There probably wouldn't have been a fourth fight if not for Pep's injury in the third fight, a win I struggle to give Saddler much credit for. Whatever advantages Saddler had over Pep, they were very slight and both proved they could beat each other.

Saddler couldn't bully some rather average featherweights/lightweights to submission. He is hardly a head-to-head nightmare in my opinion, but there aren't too many past prime fighters that I'd take over him. Saddler is the kind of a fighter who will take you if you are not at your absolute best.