Willie Pep - best of the '40s

Just some ramblings...

- We can't forget how good Sammy Angott was. At the time he beat Pep, the only people beating Angott were genuine pound-for-pound greats like Ray Robinson and Henry Armstrong. Infact, on his way to facing Pep, who was still young, Angott had beaten Bob Montgomery three times as well as Lew Jenkins, and he was the lightweight champion of the world. Pep is supposed to have ran the larger Angott very close and possibly deserved the victory.

- The above loss was Pep's only one in 136 fights before losing to Sandy Saddler. His record prior to that fight was 135-1-1, the draw coming at the hands of...

- Jimmy McAllister. He was seen as a solid, aggressive fighter but not one to hold a candle to Pep at that time. The draw was seen as a major upset. Pep avenged this with a two round knockout over McAllister, though the challenger (actually it was a non-title fight) did fare very well in the opening round and for most of the next. It seemed like a real upset was under way until Pep pulled victory from the bag in an instant. Much praise was given to Pep as this was seen as a come-from-behind win delivered on a rare off night.

- Manuel Ortiz. The great bantamweight. Infact, the general notion at the time from sportwriters, fans and experts was that Ortiz was the greatest bantamweight champion ever. He stepped up to face Pep and held the weight comfortably. He was the aggressor in the fight and performed well, but Pep was too skilled. Not bigger, just better.

- Pep beat a long list of contenders from both the featherweight and lightweight divisions. He has to be the busiest of all the greats fighting at that time. Pep was considered so good that he didn't even have to worry about anyone in his division - before defending the title it was customary to feast upon other good fighters in training for the big one. Just ten days before facing Chalky Wright, Pep beat Charley Lewis. Ten days before the initial Saddler encounter (in hindsight, Pep took the fight too lightly) he faced and beat Johnny LaRusso. Eleven days before a title defence against Sal Bartolo, Pep defeated Jimmy Joyce.

- About Saddler, well, Pep just lost badly. There was talk at the time of a fix, but I think it's quite conclusive what the more sensible writers at the time said; if Pep took a dive, he made it very hard on himself. He was properly beaten up. Of course, that lead onto one of the greatest comeback victories of all time in the rematch.

- Don't forget the plane crash either. They thought Pep would struggle to walk again, let alone fight. Apparently he wasn't himself at first but quickly improved back to his usual standard.

Not sure what I'm typing here, just thoughts. I read one of my old books on Pep last night and I'm glad I did as my mind needed refreshing. It's particularly interesting to hear how unbelievable they considered Pep to be and how highly thought of he was. I don't have the book on me right now otherwise I'd quote some stuff, but 'they' even mentioned that while Ray Robinson was good with his combination punching, he basically couldn't be held in the same breath as Pep for pure boxing ability. I have to agree.

Oh yeah. A lot of people think Pep didn't have the record to match his contemporaries, but I call bull**** on that. This is just what I gathered from the Ring's annual ratings. If they were monthly I bet you could add another ten fighters to this:

Spider Armstrong
Pedro Hernandez x2
Bobby Ivy
Vince Dell'Orto x2
Bill Speary x2
Allie Stolz
Sal Bartolo x3
Jackie Wilson x2
Willie Roache x2
Willie Joyce
Lulu Constantino
Joey Peralta
Charley Lewis x3
Phil Terranova
Jackie Graves
Lefty LaChance x2
Humberto Sierra x2
Jock Leslie
Miguel Avacedo
Teddy Davis x3
Paddy DeMarco
Eddie Compo
Harold Dade
Charley Riley
Ray Famechon
Bobby Bell x2
Carlos Chavez
Eddie Chavez
Baby Neff Ortiz
Rodolfo Gonzales
Gil Cadilli

Chalky Wright x4
Manuel Ortiz
Sandy Saddler

 

We know Charles has the better singular wins. That's without doubt. I made a thread before saying it was Charles who was the best of the '40s... Not an easy era in which to stand out.

Can't compete with Charles' top wins. No way.

The only thing I could say is that Pep was a lot more consistent throughout the decade, and that he was more dominant over his opposition. I mean, Charles was facing great fighters (at the top level) and getting through them but Pep was facing good fighters and humiliating them. He really was on a pedestal. The praise that Floyd Mayweather receives/has received at his best just pales in comparison.

 

I don't doubt for a second that Pep knew he couldn't handle the very top lightweights of the time - Montgomery, Jack & Williams - but that said, he beat Joyce as you mentioned and also lost a close one to Sammy Angott. Pep did infact beat a good amount of lightweight contenders... Paddy DeMarco was another notable one.