Continuing his goats from the boxing series, Dan Morley looks at a man who arranged points through craftsmanship, not aggression.

Willie Pep is a barometer on which the masterful box is evaluated. As Floyd Mayweather Jr, an equally wonderful defensive genius, he performed a surgical master class against the perilous Diego Corrales, HBO analyst, Larry Merchant, delighted with the performance, said that Floyd resembles the great “Will-A-The-The-MDISP”.

The highest order compliment. Pep was so masterful on every square circle that the aged story suggests that he won even a round without throwing a blow. While this story can be more a myth than a fact, an amazing career sculpted is undeniably.

For 26 years he participated in 241 professional fights, ending only 2,000 rounds. He won 229 times, winning 65 knockouts to 11 defeats and one draw.

In 1942, at the age of 20, PEP won the world championship in a featherweight, expanding its record to an impressive 54-0, a title that would keep for most of the decade, developing numbers far beyond contemporary understanding.

In the years 1940–1950, many great era fighters on the divisions of smaller weight could not put a glove on his elusive frame. The legendary Master of weight scale Manuel Ortiz, who, like PEP, kept the crown below for most of the decade in Reigns in 1942–1950, challenged the defender in recall.

Before these two of all time met at the peak of their career, PEP was employed as a sparring partner for Bantamweight. Guided in battle, they were both on impressive series of form. Despite every man occupying the highest levels of his departments, PEP easily underwent Ortiz, with daily records of records: “Hartford Italy, thanks to his thorough work of the left and fleet, made his one -time employer look like Tyro.”

It was a constant result of PEPA fights over the years. Noteworthy names in Bartolo, Jackie Wilson, Phil Terranova, Joey Archibald, Chalky Wright and Paddy de Marco were only distinguished by hundreds of people who found the chasing shadows.

Bert Sugar tells the story of his infamous “round no-punch” against Jackie Graves “, before the fight, Pep told all writers of the ring, watch me in the third round, I will win the round-and I do not throw rounds-I do not throw punch and guess what-he would move in-he would move in , he pretended to be a blow, grabbed it, turned it, moved, began to take it and restore it, blocked the blow and moved, and on two of the three scorecards without a throw in the round, he won the round. ”

Just six months after the championship performance against Graves, PEP would focus on adversity much more earnest than any opponent could ever throw him. In January 1957 he was on board a plane heading for a snowstorm, crashing and killing many people on board, hurting everyone.

The injuries he suffered on board were earnest and placed him in the cast of the body, and many suggest that they will never be able to compete again. PEP, decided to return, transferred a settlement worth $ 500,000 and, within five months, returned to the action, ahead of Victor Flores. People in Ringside could not believe it. The most elusive boxing master had unparalleled sand. He competed 131 times more in 19 years.

The story itself is stunning, but you have a further sense of its size in combination with the characters he collected in the ring at such a high level of activity towards the best fighters. During the disaster, his record was stunning 108-1-1 (37 KO). He won the victory in 62 fights before he lost in the history of the great Sammy Angott.

The response to a hit in his career was an immediate 72 undefeated fight. The 72-charges stretched in 1943–1948, which means that he returned only five months after the destructive plane crash, he won 26 basic fights.

With a record of 134-1-1, the 26-year-old has not yet been able to face his most famed enemy, Sandy Saddler. Saddler was an absolute monster of a featherweight, built like a featherweight Tommy Hearns, but fought like George Foreman – aroused the opposition and having a strange long range.

However, he never used this height advantage to stay away from the danger, instead of the Zasustwater and the opponent’s bulldozer, the style that accumulated 104 knockout in 145 wins. The cruel power and abrasive style of Saddler had to give a warrior such as PEP troubles, and when the couple met for the first time in 1948, the inevitable collision of styles meant a disaster.

Saddler did the PEP number after winning the title of a featherweight, condemning it many times on the way to the knockout of the fourth round. The giant was simply too gigantic and stylistically troublesome for “Will-The-Wisp”. A recent decade of perfection ended as violently as sudden. For PEP to have a chance to beat him, he would have to create the perfect performance. But there is a reason why he is so estimated among boxing perfection and opposite opportunities. Perfection is what he was looking for in a rematch.

The second fight of a possible four saga is Opus PEP. At that time, the dominant and inviolable man proved that he could overcome adversities that could be beaten by an opponent. The couple clashed four months after their first fight, and the consensus is that Pepa time at the top was ready, which was so compact in October.

To the amazement of the crowd, Pep left, shooting, working on aggressive Nemesis, landing thirty -seven stabs in the opening round, quickly checking that Saddler looked from the depths because he was so used to. While the skinny master remained undetermined and continued marching forward, PEP met attacks with constant anti -disappearance.

Inevitably, an avalanche of pressure began to make a pretender, opening the cut on the Pepa cheek, but he remained strongly and got stuck in the game plan in exhausting 15 rounds. The crowd exploded when the results cards were announced, and PEP was once again the world champion in feather scales, protecting the greatest scalp in his CV and becoming a second man who regained the title in the excellent history of the division.

The couple fight four times, including the fight marked as the most crucial boxing fight. ” Saddler won three. He was just too complex for PEP. However, despite the loss of the competition of three to one, Saddler offered him the opportunity to show that, apart from complete dominance, he was able to overcome the overwhelming opportunities and “draw from every ounce of strength in his compact tiny body”, as described by James P. Dawson to strengthen as an immortal box.

Saddler’s perilous presence prevented PEP from re -maintaining the title of world champion after the third fight in 1950. Despite this, before he suffered a second defeat, he began an impressive 20-month run, beating Hall of Famer Charley Riley and the world champion in Bantamiegt World, world world champion Harold Dade through his last reign of the championships.

He continued the fight for the next 16 years, not maintaining the perfection he accumulated in 1940–1948. He still showed consistency that less than a handful of fighters remained in such a immense number of fights.

The testimony of Willi’s defensive is his interviews in his older times, which were still so edged and witty as always, despite the fact that they competed in so many fights in such a complex era. Pep was a class in the ring and outside.

His final record was 229 wins to 11 failures and one draw with 65 knockouts. He died in 2006 at the age of 84.