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The best of the smallest boxers

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Looking at one of the smallest but best boxers of all time with Willie “Will o” Wisp “Pep to Ricardo” Finito “Lopez!

Pep from Rocky Hill, Connecticut, had more victories than the most, not to mention the smallest boxers. He maintained a featherweight title twice. From November 1942 to October 1948, again, from February 1949 to September 1950.

The final PEP record was outstanding 229-11-1 with 65 stops. He once said Master of Middle Rocky Graziano: “I couldn’t hit me with a fist full of stones!”

Pep Won His First 62 Fights Before Langa November 20, 1942. He Defeated NBA World Featheweight Champion Sal Bartolo by A 12th-round Knockout to Become the undisputed World Feathwerweight Champion on June 7, 1946.

Pep had a 134-1-1 record when he lost to Sandy Saddler, 86-6-2, by knockout of the fourth round on October 29, 1948, he defeated Saddler in a unanimous 15-order rematch by decision to regain the title on February 11, 1949.

PEP retired in 1959, in order to return in 1965, and fought ten times before he was in favor of good in 1943. On April 26, 1965, he defeated Jackie Lennon, and this writer was present, although he was not a writer yet. He won 9 of 19, lost the last fight against Calvin Woodland.

WBC, WBA, WBO Minimum Waseight and Lightweight Master of Fly Libra Ricardo “Finito” Lopez had 51-0-1 with 38 detention, from Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.

Lopez had 47-0, when he was attracted by Rosendo Alvarez, 24-0, by D-TD in 7 rounds. He was knocked down in the second round. Alvarez lost one point in the seventh round because of the random principle of the WBC head butt. It was August 7, 1998. On November 13 in the rematch Lopez won the divided decision to add an empty WBA title to his WBC title.

In the next fight Lopez won the title of IBF World Lightweight Flyight, beating Will Grigsby, 14-1-1, October 2, 1999 based on a divided decision. Then he won the last two fights over the space over the Anucha Phothong, 38-5-1 and Zolani Petelo, 17-2-2.

World Flyighight Jimmy Master Jimmy “The Mighty Atom” Wilde, 121-1-1, won the title, stopping Dick Heasman, 4-0, in London in the second round. He came from Tylorstown, Wales, Great Britain.

Wilde lost the last two fights ending with the 132-4-1 record with 98 stops.

Pascual Perez was a golden Olympic medalist from 1948 in London. At 4:11 with the name “El Leon Mendocino” from Ciudad Mendoza, Argentina.

On November 26, 1954, Perez, 23-0-1, won the world fly weight, defeating Yoshio Shirala, 46-6-4, in Tokyo, Japan. In the rematch he shot a knockout in 5 rounds.

Perez had 51-0-1, when he lost to Sadao Yaoita, 27-6, in Tokyo, Japan, in January 1959. He won the rematch in November with the tenth round. He ended with a record of 84-7-1 with 57 stops.

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Devin Haney Accepts Call From Undefeated Former Champion to Defend World Title: ‘Let’s Do It’

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Devin Haney accepts call-out from unbeaten former champion for world title defence: “Let’s do it”

Devin Haney won the WBO welterweight title in November, but “The Dream” was unable to agree to his first defense.

Now it looks like the American is ready to face the undefeated former champion.

Haney dethroned Brian Norman Jr in Novembernoting one of the standout performances of the year, which saw the Georgian-born operator suffer the first loss of his career after moving up from the super lightweight division.

Seven months have passed and Haney still hasn’t signed a deal to make his first title defense or unify with other 147-pound champions, despite being linked to a sought-after rematch with bitter rival Ryan Garcia and a clash with WBA titleholder Rolando Romero.

However, after being named the number one contender in the WBO welterweight division, undefeated former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis took to social media to call for a fight for Haney’s belt.

ON XHaney responded to the call by publicly accepting the proposed All-American scrap, stating, “Let’s do it KEYSHAWN.”

Haney had previously invited a fight following Davis’ win over Ortiz, but talks quickly died down when rumors of a potential meeting with Romero surfaced, only for the fight to fall through, reportedly due to Haney not being paid a guaranteed amount.

With Haney-Romero seemingly off the table, the door may now be open for Chorley’s Jack Catterall to take advantage and secure Romero’s ‘WBA Super’ crown after winning the WBA (regular) welterweight title last month.

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Roach vs. Zepeda for the vacant WBC lightweight title on August 1

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Lamont “The Reaper” Roach Jr. and William “El Camarón” Zepeda will fight for the vacant WBC lightweight world title on Saturday, August 1 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, announced promoter Golden Boy. The 12-round fight will headline “The Fight,” a fresh monthly series from TNT Sports and DAZN that will air in the United States on TNT and truTV and stream globally on DAZN. Golden Boy promotes itself in cooperation with TGB Promotions and ProBox Promotions.

Roach Jr. (25-1-3, 10 KO) of Washington, D.C., and Zepeda (33-1, 27 KO) of San Mateo Atenco, Mexico, arrived after back-to-back title fights without a win. Last year, Roach Jr. he has fought two majority draws: against Gervonta Davis for the WBA lightweight title in March 2025 and against Isaac Cruz at super lightweight in December 2025. Zepeda has not fought since taking a unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title in July 2025, the only loss of his career.

How the title became empty

The WBC lightweight championship opened after Stevenson moved up to 140 pounds. He collected the WBO junior welterweight title from Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden on January 31becoming a four-division champion, after which the WBC declared his 135-pound title vacant. The sanctioning body later ordered Roach Jr. and Zepeda meet for the belt.

“We have been working demanding since my last fight,” Zepeda said in a press release. “We are at the top of the lightweight division and we know that any opponent at this level is a sedate challenge. Once again we have been given the opportunity to fight for the world championship and we are ready to show the world who exactly “El Camarón” Zepeda is. “

Roach Jr., who won the WBA super featherweight title with a split decision victory over Héctor García in November 2023, billed the fight as the next step in his class. “This is my fourth consecutive world title fight in a different weight class,” he said. “Without a doubt, I am bringing boxing back and fighting for the top spot.”

“William Zepeda has fully deserved this opportunity,” said Oscar De La Hoya, president and CEO of Golden Boy. “Over the years, he has taken on every challenge put before him and has established himself as one of the most thrilling fighters in boxing with his relentless pressure, incredible work rate and fan-friendly style.”

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 5 at 10 a.m. PT on AXS.com and GoldenBoy.com for $300, $200, $150, $75, $50 and $30 plus applicable fees. Pre-sale will start on Thursday, June 4. Details about the card and credentials will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Looking at the longest winning streaks in boxing

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Image: Looking At Boxing's Longest Winning Streaks

The fight was memorable for several reasons. Chavez was knocked down for the first time in his career and had points deducted twice for low blows. Randall won by split decision, ending a winning streak that lasted nearly 14 years. Chavez later gained revenge in the rematch, winning a technical decision after the fight was stopped due to a clash of heads.

Before Chavez, Sugar Ray Robinson set a standard that few players ever approached. Robinson won his first 40 professional fights before losing to Jake LaMotta in February 1942. The defeat turned out to be only a ephemeral setback.

Three weeks later, Robinson defeated LaMotta in a rematch and began another remarkable streak. Between 1943 and 1951, Robinson won 91 consecutive fights, which remains one of the most impressive achievements in boxing history.

Several other champions ended their careers undefeated or came close to doing so. Mayweather finished his career with a record of 50-0 after winning world titles in five weight classes. Marciano left the sport undefeated with a 49-0 record as heavyweight champion.

Larry Holmes appeared on track to equal Marciano’s heavyweight record before he met Michael Spinks in September 1985. Holmes entered the fight with a 48-0 record, but lost by compact decision, one win shy of matching Marciano.

Joe Calzaghe also finished his career undefeated. The Welsh southpaw retired with a 46-0 record after unifying a share of the super middleweight championship and later defeating Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins.

History books also contain the names of players whose long winning streaks have largely faded from public memory. According to Harry Mullan’s The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Boxing, Britain’s Hal Bagwell had a winning streak of 183 fights between 1938 and 1948. Packey McFarland recorded 97 consecutive victories between 1905 and 1915, while Spaniard Pedro Carrasco recorded a streak of 93 victories between 1964 and 1971.

Figures from boxing’s first decades can be hard to verify due to incomplete record-keeping and differences between official figures and newspaper decisions. Still, they’re a reminder that winning streaks existed long before the era of television.

Whether measured by the number of victories, longevity or the level of adversity he faced, Robinson’s 91-fight streak and Chavez’s undefeated march through the 1980s remain one of the greatest streaks in history. These are achievements that still stand alongside the perfect records of Mayweather, Marciano and Calzaghe whenever boxing’s longest winning streaks are discussed.

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