Pep against the featherweights now

[dans]

Featherweight is pretty thin right now, so I say Pep rules today's FWs. However, rewind a few years back and Pep has a lot more competition.

[GJC]

I think Pep would clear out the division but I will admit to a huge bias for Pep.

[Stoppage]

The only one that could cause a problem, like someone said, is Gamboa. Gamboa's fast and powerful. The question is: can he find Pep?

[TheGreatA]

I agree that if there's anyone who would trouble Pep it's Gamboa.

I think Gamboa would get beaten down by the Sandy Saddler type but be more competitive with Pep who was strictly a boxer, not a puncher. People often underestimate the punching prowess of Willie Pep though, he KO'd numerous hall of famers and top contenders in his prime.

Pep attempted to conserve his hands from breaking and rarely set his feet to punch. When he wanted to he could knock an opponent out, much like Pernell Whitaker. Under the circumstances of his day, a boxer had to fight much more frequently to make a sufficient living and breaking his hands would've meant no pay. The man even came back from a serious back injury he suffered in the plane crash in a matter of months.

[Heru]

Featherweight is as solid right now as it's been in a while, full of young guns. But there's no featherweight that I could definitely say would beat Pep. They're either too inexperienced or past it.

Rafael Marquez gets a shout out from me, but he'd get outboxed.

[RightCross94]

I agree that if there's anyone who would trouble Pep it's Gamboa.

I think Gamboa would get beaten down by the Sandy Saddler type but be more competitive with Pep who was strictly a boxer, not a puncher. People often underestimate the punching prowess of Willie Pep though, he KO'd numerous hall of famers and top contenders in his prime.

Pep attempted to conserve his hands from breaking and rarely set his feet to punch. When he wanted to he could knock an opponent out, much like Pernell Whitaker. Under the circumstances of his day, a boxer had to fight much more frequently to make a sufficient living and breaking his hands would've meant no pay. The man even came back from a serious back injury he suffered in the plane crash in a matter of months.

Exactly. A guy like Saddler who could take Gamboa's punch and blast him back would give him massvie problems, especially towards the end of a fight.

[GJC]

The man even came back from a serious back injury he suffered in the plane crash in a matter of months.

Yes people forget that even though Sadler was Pep's bogeyman all their fights were after that plane crash so even beating a fighter as great as Sadler once was a hell of an achievement.

[TheGreatA]

Yes people forget that even though Sadler was Pep's bogeyman all their fights were after that plane crash so even beating a fighter as great as Sadler once was a hell of an achievement.

The first Saddler-Pep bout was much like Frazier-Foreman I, except Pep obviously had a much different style from Frazier, but it was equally as devastating. Saddler blasted out Pep in one-sided fashion. On a sidenote, Saddler was actually in Foreman's corner when he faced Frazier.

To come back from that and score a decisive 15 round decision win over Saddler has to be considered a huge victory. The last two bouts went Saddler's way, but Pep had the better of them until Saddler prevailed with some rather questionable tactics. Saddler went onto reign as the champ for the next 6 years.

An old Pep actually put up a great effort against the next featherweight champ after Saddler, Hogan "Kid" Bassey, outboxing Bassey for eight rounds until his legs gave out in the 9th round. This was in 1958.

Pep was never at his best after the plane crash. Many observers who did see Willie Pep at his best say he wasn't half the fighter he used to be after coming back from the injury.

[GJC]

On a sidenote, Saddler was actually in Foreman's corner when he faced Frazier.

**** Saddler was the main man though if memory serves?
I always thought Archie Moore who was also in the camp would have been too wise to have fallen for Ali's tricks and should have had more of a voice.

[TheGreatA]

**** Saddler was the main man though if memory serves?
I always thought Archie Moore who was also in the camp would have been too wise to have fallen for Ali's tricks and should have had more of a voice.

**** Saddler was the main trainer while his cousin Sandy and Archie Moore helped him out although he often didn't need their help, especially Archie's. He was content on keeping Foreman as a rough and tough Sandy Saddler type fighter.

Moore said he always regretted not having much say in training Foreman until the comeback of Foreman when Moore was hired back as Foreman's trainer. Moore instantly worked on his defense which showed.

Archie also said the same thing about Sandy Saddler whom he helped out back when Moore and Saddler were both still fighting in the late 1940's and the 1950's. Moore said Sandy Saddler could have been even greater had he been able to teach Saddler some defense.

Sandy Saddler himself didn't think much of the art of boxing. He felt he had boxed Pep too much in their second fight and went back to his old tricks in the third and fourth fights.