Willie Pep

Boxer

• Born: September 19, 1922
• Birthplace: Middletown, Connecticut
• Died: November 23, 2006
• Place of death: Rocky Hill, Connecticut

Sport: Boxing

Early life

Willie Pep was born Guglielmo Papaleo in Middletown, Connecticut, on September 19, 1922. He left high school at the age of sixteen to pursue boxing. During his amateur career, he won two Connecticut state titles: the flyweight, in 1938, and the bantamweight, in 1939. By this time, he had changed his name to Willie Pep. Many Italian fighters of the time, including heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, did this to make their names more familiar to fans and reporters. Willie lost only three times as an amateur, once to Ray Robinson. Willie left the amateur ranks with a record of 62-3.

The Road to Excellence

In 1940, at the age of seventeen, Willie turned professional and won his first 62 bouts. On July 3, 1940, in Hartford, Connecticut, he faced James McGovern in his first professional fight; he won a 4-round decision. Willie continued to win. He defeated notable contenders, including Joey Archibald and Pedro Hernandez, by decision.

On November 20, 1942, in were chosen, Willie won a 15-round decision over Chalky Wright for the New York State featherweight championship. He defended that title three times: against Sal Bartolo, in Boston, Massachusetts, in June, 1943; against Wright, in New York City, in September, 1944; and against Phil Terranova, in New York City, in February, 1945. He won all these fights with 15-round decisions. During this time, he also suffered his first defeat, losing to lightweight champion Sammy Angott in New York on March 19, 1943, in a nontitle bout. Willie won his next 73 bouts. While Willie held the New York state title, the United States became involved in World War II. Willie served in both the Navy and the Army and was discharged in January, 1944. In May, 1946, Willie’s professional boxing record stood at 97-1-1, with 30 knockouts.

The Emerging Champion

On May 27, 1946, in New York City, Willie faced National Boxing Association featherweight champion Bartolo for the undisputed featherweight title. Willie won this fight in the twelfth round with a rare knockout. Willie continued fighting in both title and nontitle bouts. On July 25, 1946, an apocryphal tale emerged from Willie’s fight with Jackie Graves in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the story, Willie won a round without throwing a punch. He used evasive tactics to make Graves miss wildly throughout the round and compelled the judges to score it in his favor. Some have doubted this story, saying Willie threw not a few but many punches in that round.

Willie’s career nearly ended on January 8, 1947, when he was involved in an airplane crash in Millville, New Jersey. The crash killed some passengers on board. Many suspected that, with a broken back and leg, Willie would never fight again. However, he surprised the boxing world, making a recovery and defeating Victor Flores only five months later. However, many felt that Willie lost something physically as a result of the plane crash. He made two defenses of his title. He defeated Jock Leslie by twelfth-round knockout in Flint, Michigan, in August, 1947; then, he beat Humberto Sierra by a tenth-round knockout in Miami, Florida, in February, 1948.

Continuing the story

In October, 1948, Willie began a four-fight series that defined his career. These fights were against Sandy Saddler. In their first bout, held in October, 1948, in New York’s Madison Square Garden, Willie was defeated for the first time in six years, losing his title. Saddler had a three-inch height advantage over Willie and was able to hamper the smooth flowing defense of the Will ’o the Wisp. He knocked Willie down twice in the third round and knocked him out in the fourth. In February, 1949, in the rematch, also held in Madison Square Garden, Willie, cut on both eyes, survived near knockdowns in the tenth and fourteenth rounds to win a decision, regaining his title. Ring magazine declared this bout “the fight of the year.”

After successful title defenses against Eddie Compo, Charley Riley, and the French fighter Ray Famechon, Willie fought Saddler a third time. In September, 1950, at Yankee Stadium, Willie was knocked down in the third round but was ahead on the judges’ scorecards after the seventh, when he had to concede the fight with a dislocated shoulder. A year later, Willie met Saddler for the last time, losing by technical knockout in the ninth round when he quit because of a closed right eye. This fight, refereed by Ray Miller, was marred by dirty tactics committed by both Willie and Saddler, prompting the New York State Athletic Commission to suspend both fighters.

After his seven-month suspension, Willie continued fighting until 1959 and fought again briefly in 1965 and 1966. He never again challenged for the world title. However, in September, 1958, he was leading featherweight champion Hogan Bassey after 8 rounds of a 10-round fight before getting knocked out.

Summary

Willie is remembered by many as one of the greatest fighters of all time. His strength was in his defense; he had an ability to hit and move away from his opponents before they could hit back. In 1990, he became a charter member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. With 229 victories in his career, he set the record for most wins of any world champion. Willie held the New York world featherweight title from 1942 to 1946 and the featherweight world championship from 1946 to 1948 and from 1949 to 1950.

Bibliography

Hauser, Thomas, and Stephen Brunt. The Italian Stallions: Heroes of Boxing’s Glory Days. Toronto: Sport Media, 2003.

Heinz, W. C. Once They Heard the Cheers. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1979.

Heller, Peter. In This Corner … ! Forty World Champions Tell Their Stories. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973.

Sugar, Bert Randolph. Boxing’s Greatest Fighters. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2006.