Did Willie Pep lack heart?

A few points about Pep vs Saddler may I make.
I saw Willie Pep in his glorious prime before his near fatal plane crash in 1947
which almost killed him and had him in traction for many months. Pep by his admission and most everyone in boxing said he "was never as fast or good" after the plane crash.
Saddler who I saw several times was a tall, wiry awkward roughhouse fighter
who would give any featherweight trouble by virtue of his size and strength.
Having said this we must remember that Willie Pep beat 4 common opponents
that beat Sandy Saddler.
Jock Leslie kod Saddler early in career. Pep kod Jock Leslie.
Phil Terranova,ex FW champ beat Saddler. Pep beat Terranova
Humberto Sierra Beat Saddler...Pep beat Sierra
Paddy DeMarco beat Saddler twice. Pep outclassed Paddy DeMarco.
My contention is that the Willie Pep who I saw at MSG before the plane crash
would have surely beat Saddler both at their best..

 

Burt, I finished reading Brian Hughes book a couple of months ago. I also had the good fortune to speak with Pep about the Saddler fights 20 years ago. He was quite conciliatory in giving Saddler his due in their series, but I got the sense it was only half sincere. I was surprised watching the 3rd and 4th fights that Pep was seemingly in control and each time retired on his stool. I shared the same surprise the thread poster felt as I did not think Pep had sustained that much punishment. The 3rd fight I can understand, but the 4th leaves me with many questions. I firmly believe that any match between the two would have Pep leading in the scoring, but his fragility can't be ignored. Burt, I know you saw the second fight, not sure if you saw him pre crash. If you have, how much better percentage wise would you say Pep was pre crash?

 

Hya, Yes as Iv'e posted before I saw Willie Pep the first time in 1943 with my dad against a terrific classy lightweight contender
named Allie Stolz. Pep outsped and outclassed the bigger Stolz
causing we in the crowd to be in awe of Willie, so great he was. It is impossible to say how much better Pep was in 1943, 4 years
before his near fatal plane crash, but he was assuredly much slower after the accident...The only featherweight of my time or abouts that I think would have beaten Willie was Henry Armstrong at his featherweight best. Willie could not avoid the
non stop inside barrages of Armstrong for long as he didn't hit hard enough to hurt Henry. There was an old opponent of Pep named Chalky Wright who was long in the tooth when Pep beat him but a younger Chalky Wright I believe would have beaten Sandy Saddler as Sandy tough as he was ,was easy to hit and Chalky was one of the hardest punching featherweights of his time...cheers...