Willie Pep vs. Vicente Saldivar

Below is what I said back in 2018 and I haven't changed me mind much. Also I'm an idle c*nt and refuse to type it all out again.

The list of feathers who stand a significant chance of taking a prime Pep is small as heck but Vicente is right up there imo. I can only think of Armstrong who I'd definitely fancy to do the job cleaner. Maybe Marcel. I'm not outright picking Saldivar to do it but he definitely has a serious chance. If the likes of Bartolo and Terranova could take more than a couple of rounds from Willie.....

Saldivar was one of the great fighters in the sport at patiently and incrementally tracking down movers, boxers, speedsters and skilled defensive fighters. Winstone x 3, Laguna, Legra, Seki, Famechon, Luis etc, though clearly at his best over fifteen rounds when he could gradually pin them down. Force them to move increasingly more round after round, skip and feint his way inside behind his jab, hammer away to the ribs with heavy right hooks and, when they'd become more static, run them over from the twelfth round on with his killer straight left, relentless endurance and kamikaze-like combinations.

He'd need every round against Pep though, I think. However good the aforementioned lads were, they weren't Pep. It's fair to say that Pep is going to take an early-mid lead if Saldivar goes for the slow-burning approach. Probably past the tenth, so Saldivar would have to really work to slow him down and then time his charge. It's whether Pep has built up enough of a lead to see things out because I think Saldivar stands a significant chance of sweeping the championship rounds, maybe scoring a knockdown or two to gain even more ground on the cards. I actually wouldn't rule a late stoppage though I wouldn't favour it either; Pep was tough, gutsy and rugged with a hard edge and not afraid to get dirty in addition to his deity-like skill. He'd still be shifting left and right, ducking and diving, peppering out his jab and trying to maintain his own voluminous output, but I think he'd be shipping a lot of punches that weren't landing in the earlier rounds and really hurting.

Great fight and a close one. If Suzie Q reads this he'll go postal, hehe. Saldivar, Marcel, Sanchez, Pedroza and Nelson are the standout featherweights since Pep himself other than Saddler. I think Willie has an easier time with Nelson and Sal tbh, on account of styles. Pedroza would be a tough night for him too, though I'd still favour Pep to turn the trick in that one.