Pernell Whitaker vs Willie Pep

Its honestly likely that he would.

It doesn't take as long to heal after fights as folks think. I've been to 8 round decisions and been in the gym the next day. Unless you have something like a break or a sprain, something like a real injury, you aren't even sore a week later.

Its not to say that its not commendable to older guys were that active, because it shows a remarkable dedication to their craft, but it also means they were sharper, more honed in, etc.

There is little reason to believe elite fighters who did their jobs in the gym couldn't sustain an active schedule, particularly a fighter who never took any punishment in fights like Whitaker.

As it stands, most every pro I know wishes they could fight once a month.

 

M, Willie Pep averaged about w bout every 2 WEEKS, excluding his broken back injury from the near fatal plane crash in 1947...
It is one thing to fight as often as Pep did without losing bouts in a 200 fight career. It is another thing to be consistent in a 50 fight career.
Were Whitalker to have fought 4 times as many fights as he did, I doubt if he could have ever sustain such a remarkable record as Willie Pep did...
To use a baseball analogy, it is fine not to make an error in 50 games at shortstop, but it is an altogether harder thing to do this for 200 games..
One other thing M, I saw the great Pep in his absolute prime against a top lightweight Allie Stolz in 1943. We in the crowd were stunned by his performance..
But he beat so many TOP fighters at his best who are not known by the public today, such as Joey Archibald, Chalky Wright,Bobby [poison ]Ivy,
Bill Speary,Sal Bartola 2, [ would be champ today], Phil Terranova, Willie Joyce a great LW] ,Jackie Wilson, Allie Stolz, Jackie Graves, Humberto Sierra, Lefty LaChance, Paddy DeMarco etc, all TOP fighters of the rich talented 1940s...There will never be another Willie Pep before his plane accident...They threw away the mould...Cheers...

 

i think it would be boring as **** to anyone who doesnt really love boxing with all his heart.

 

Pea wins in my book... he holds pretty much every meaningful advantage in this fight...

 

Great post Burt !:good I agree 100%

 

The fights are what makes boxing fun.

Staying in the gym for 6 months waiting for your promoter to piece something together is whats boring as ****.

Old as I am, I wish I could fight once a month.

Not saying it isn't remarkable to fight once every two weeks. It is. Its phenomenal and shows astounding dedication.

I just don't think we should automatically assume a consummate professional and incredibly hard working prime Whitaker couldn't handle a busier schedule.

I'll grant that there are a lot of more modern fighters who could not(The Klitschkos, who struggle with injury), but I truly believe Whitaker could, especially considering he went through several 12 round matches without getting hit cleanly once. Pep was utterly amazing, and a phenom, but so was Whitaker, and he doesn't deserve to be historically penalized for the conventions of his time. Modern promoting pretty much makes a 200 fight career an impossibility, and thats not Pernells fault.

 

i just mean that as fight..for most people.it would be considred boring to watch....

 

I think that would depend on the styles, really, if I'm understanding on you.

A pure boxer would of course try to stay sharp and cruise, avoiding punishment to avoid difficulty.

A guy like me would easily be worse off the more rounds a fight went, so if I knew I had a fight in a month, I'd try to knock a guy out early even harder. I bet a guy like Mike Tyson, or one of the Klitschkos, or a speed demon like Nonito Donaire, would feel the same way about an active schedule.