Pep, Willie
[Guglielmo Papaleo]

Boxing

b. Sept. 19, 1922, Middletown, CT

Career Record

Other Resources

Nicknamed "Will o' the Wisp" because of his speed and elusiveness, Pep dropped out of high school at sixteen to concentrate on boxing. He won two Connecticut state amateur championships, as a flyweight in 1938 and as a bantamweight in 1939, then became a professional.

Pep won 53 consecutive fights to gain a world featherweight championship match against Chalky Wright on November 20, 1942. He took a 15-round decision, becoming the youngest fighter to win a world title in forty years.

He suffered his first loss in 63 fights to Sammy Angott in a non-title bout on March 19, 1943, then went undefeated in 73 consecutive fights, which included a draw. Pep served in both the Army and the Navy during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1944.

His famous string of four matches with Sandy Saddler began on October 29, 1948, at Madison Square Garden. Pep atypically chose to brawl against Saddler and was knocked out in the 4th round. In a rematch on February 11, 1949, Pep went back to his usual elusive style and won a relatively easy decision to regain his title.

In their third fight, on September 8, 1950, Pep again boxed well, although he was knocked down in the 3rd round, and it was a close match until Pep failed to come out for the 8th round because of an injured shoulder.

Saddler and Pep met for the last time on September 26, 1951. It was another brawl, both fighters fouling continually. They wrestled each other to the floor twice, taking the referee with them on one occasion. Pep couldn't come out for the 10th round because of a bad cut under an eye, allegedly caused by Saddler's thumb.

Pep kept on fighting until early 1959, when he announced his retirement. He came back in 1965 and won nine fights, but retired permanently after being knocked out by Calvin Woodward on March 16, 1966. He was later a referee, a boxing inspector, and a sports columnist.

He won an incredible 229 matches, 65 by knockout; lost 11, 6 by knockout, and fought one draw.

International Boxing Hall of Fame