Featherweights: Salvador Sanchez vs Willie Pep

[elmersalsa]

I guess I have not seen people talk about this match up. Maybe we had in the past, but I don't remember discussing about it. Who wins between these great featherweights?

[Ezzard]

Pep. Styles suit him. Sanchez was great against aggressive fighters.

[misterpunch]

pep gets the nod

[Seamus]

Two of my alltime favorites. Pep just wouldn't play into Sanchez's hands, he'd be contantly moving in and out, jabbing and countering in route to about a 4pt win.

[RadioElRadar]

Love Sanchez, but it's Pep for me in this one

[gilgamesh]

Yep, Pep is a bad match-up for Sanchez. Sanchez had more pop in his hands so I could see him winning some rounds with that, but Pep's defensive genius and quicker feet and hands would ultimately win the day. Just too slick

[Jpreisser]

I am on board with everyone else`s thinking. Pep wins.

[dempseyfire]

This would be akin to Whitaker-Chavez . .

[Ambling Alp II]

I think this would be competitive. Pep had the better defense but Sanchez had the better offense.

[vagabundo55]

How they forget Sandy Saddler conveniently.

[vagabundo55]

They talk about Pep's plane crash, but hardly do they mention the lacerations Saddler received where you could not see much.

[misterpunch]

we do NOT forget the great sandy saddler. when this post came up my immediate thought was saddler. we know saddler had peps number but i think he might find it tougher against SS style wise.

[HomicideHenry]

I like Sanchez, but I dont know how he could manage to hit Pep cleanly, let alone do much of anything to offset the skill set of the great Willie Pep.

[Crease]

Pep for me.

[Ambling Alp II]

How they forget Sandy Saddler conveniently.

That crossed my mind regarding this fight as well. Saddler stopped Pep 3 out of 4 times. It should not be inconceivable that Sanchez could get to Pep enough to do some damage. Sanchez was a very skillful, well-rounded fighter.
True, Sanchez never beat anyone as good as Pep. However, outside of beating Saddler once out of 4 times, Pep never beat anyone as good as Sanchez.

[AngryGoon38]

Pep. Styles suit him. Sanchez was great against aggressive fighters.

The more i think about it the more i'd conclude Pep wins as well,90-10 odds for Pep pre-plane crash,maybe something like 70-30 or 65-35 for post Plane crash Pep. Rueban Castillo was sort of a poor man's version of Pep,at least for a brief time period and i remember him giving Sanchez fits and being still slightly ahead in they're 1980 bout after 10 rounds. I think Pep would likely give greater fits and be more ahead after 10,and stay well ahead after 12 or 15. Rueban Castillo is the closest comparison to a Willie Pep like fighter that Sanchez faced,at least from what i observed during his title reign.

[AngryGoon38]

How they forget Sandy Saddler conveniently.

That crossed my mind regarding this fight as well. Saddler stopped Pep 3 out of 4 times. It should not be inconceivable that Sanchez could get to Pep enough to do some damage. Sanchez was a very skillful, well-rounded fighter.
True, Sanchez never beat anyone as good as Pep. However, outside of beating Saddler once out of 4 times, Pep never beat anyone as good as Sanchez.

I see you're points of reference and such but i think it would really come down to speed and elusiveness and Pep at 126 is the better boxer and wins most of the time vs Sanchez. Sanchez was the bigger physical speciman and he loved fighting hard grueling battles,especially against punchers or brawlers,Sanchez was a Boxer brawler,Pep a pure boxer,and as for Saddler,no disrespect to him overall,a great legend yes,but also an incredibly ridulously dirty boxer.
The dirtiness really came out in the Pep bouts because Saddler obviously knew thats what he had to do to win,and amazing what he got away with in they're 4 bout trilogy.

The one fight where Saddler was the least dirtiest was the one that Pep triumphed,and it was an absolutely beautifull performance. In they're 1st bout,Pep still had the post plane crash hangover and just generally major rust against competitive boxers. Pep won the 2nd bout fair and square,one of the greatest boxing performances ever. After that,Saddler knew what he had to do in order to win against Pep(Fight very dirty),and like i said,just utterly amazing what he got away with,its basically simultaneously funny and dispicable at the same time,if that makes sense.

On a side note,Being that Sanchez was such a physical presence at 126,i really believe he could've carried on at higher weightclasses,and with plenty of success. Pep probably not so much,being that he really relied on that in and out swiftness/quickness pure boxing stylistic approach. Sanchez,a big rough and tough Featherweight with endless stamina and great resiliance most likely would've become a title holder at 130,even at 135, especially being that this is back before the modern ridiculous weight draining methods became standard fare for boxers and other fight sport combatants.

[Seamus]

Willie Pep was ahead on the all 3 scorecards in the 3rd fight with Saddler and on 2 in the 4th bout. One ended because of a seperated shoulder, and the other because of an eye injury possibly caused by a thumbing. I just don't see where alot of guys get the "Saddler had Pep's number" argument.

[vagabundo55]

Well it's arguable that Saddler had a similar style to Azumah Nelson, if you see beyond skin you'd realize it isn't that far off.

[vagabundo55]

Quite honestly, if Pep wasn't allowed to bend his head below his waist which was "illegal" when Sugar Robinson did it, well he'd get an asswhooping.

[misterpunch]

this