Was just thinking about this the other day. Mr. Perpetual Motion againt the Man whom you couldnt hit "With a handfull of Rice" Thoughts?
Armstrong is better than Saddler, so you'd think if Pep was anywhere near prime, which he may not have been, Armstrong would beat him. I prefer Pep's skills but I don't know if he has the workrate and strength to keep Armstrong off him. Our own John Garfield talks about Pep being a very relaxed guy in the gym who didn't train much. If he trained harder he'd beat Armstrong and Saddler, but as it was I don't think he beats Armstrong
Having seen Willie Pep in his prime, before his plane accident,and seeing Henry Armstrong after is prime against Ray Robinson and Beau Jack in 1943, I have to think that the Henry Armstrong who ravaged the 126 pound division in 1936-1937, would whip Willie Pep as featherweights...Armstrong would eventually get inside Pep and wreck havoc on Pep, as Willie didn't hit hard enough to hurt Armstrong to keep Henry off him. As fighters Pep was better than a Lou Ambers was as a lightweight, BUT Ambers was a master of infighting ,able to cope with the battering ram that was Armstrong... So I have Armstrong wearing down Pep for a decision IMO....
Pep's real damn difficult to pin down, but if you want someone pinned down, Armstrong's the guy to go to. I'd lean towards the best Featherweight version of him to probably take a decision on aggression, volume, and the heavier blows.
Tippy Larkin outboxed Armstrong 'decisively' (for 1 round) at 140lbs. Idk. Just a very tiny sample size and probably doesn't merit anything -- but I think Willie Pep gives a featherweight Armstrong a run for his money. No. I change my mind; I'm going all in with Pep. Baby Arizmendi got past Armstrong's leads consistently. Pep is just as tough and much faster.
Armstrong But imagine that the definition of a pure boxer vs the definition of a swarmer talk about colliding styles
rounds 1-8: pep wins 6 of the 8, utilising the ring and keeping armstrong on the end of the jab for stretches round 9 armstrong lands 2 low blows that take peps wind and armstrong takes over the control, pep heels and armstrongs head comes into play 6/3 pep rounds 10-12 fought mostly on the inside, armstrong throwing more but both landing about the same, both fouling a lot, pep not alowing himself to be backed into the corners 7/5 pep round 13 pep comes out fast and gets in a number of 2/3 punch combos but armstrong comes back into it as his body shots and volume are begining to tell 7.5/5.5 pep round 14 pep is moving in and out beautifuly, still landing, but armstrong is begining to dominate and land hard punches when he gets in close 8/6 pep round 15 armstrong is throwing punches nonstop with pep holding and bleeding from a headbutt, then armstrong lands a left to the body and pep takes a knee, after a 8 count pep rides out the final minute. result - draw
If Pep can keep moving and keep Armstrong off balance for the better part of 15 rounds I like Pep. If Armstrong can make it a toe to toe fight. Pep will find Armstrong isn't an easy target himself. Armstrong is also stronger than pep. If they go toe to toe. I like Armstrong.