Re: Ugly styles/techniques
Posted: 06 May 2020, 20:30
Gianfranco Rosi could be tough to watch, but he got the job done.
Willie Pep said that he lost his chin because of the plane crash. I guess that is true because Pep was never stopped before the crash in 111 bouts, but was stopped 6 times after. Of course Saddler had something to do with that. I believe that Willie was a better boxer than Sandy, but when Saddler fought dirty ( holding and hitting in clinches), Pep had little chance of winning. Also, Saddler would wrestle and was stronger than Pep. Sandy won the 3rd fight by dislocating Willie's shoulder while wrestling.Scypion wrote: ↑05 May 2020, 22:25 Saddler was very strong for his size and hit extremely hard for a featherweight, especially with his left. In clinches, it was like a middleweight fighting a featherweight. As for Pep, Saddler was about 3 inches taller and had a 7 inch reach advantage. That is not all though. Willie Pep had some ring wear and tear on him. He had 136 fights prior to his first fight with Sandy (His record was 134-1-1). Also, there was the airplane crash that left Pep with 2 broken vertebrae, a compound fracture of his left leg, severe chest injuries, and was in body and leg casts for about 5 months (the accident was in January of 1947).
Pep did struggle with opponents that he should not have later in a majority decision against Archie Wilmer later in 1947 and being floored by a boxer, Pedro Biesca, with a losing record in January of 1948. Some thought that Pep was almost through. Pep said that he lost his chin due to the accident, but I think he lost some punching power as well. Right before his accident, Pep had stopped 8 out his last 9 opponents. Never came close to that again as far as KO's.
Sandy looked so much bigger than Willie, but so did most of his opponents. I actually think that Pep was really a natural bantamweight, but he could beat any featherweight anyway, at least until Saddler came along.
In the 4th fight, the referee did nothing when Saddler blasted away at Pep while holding him in the clinches. Pep retaliated by fighting dirty himself (tripping, heeling, wrestling, etc.). I believe that Willie would have beaten Sandy the majority of the time if the fights were clean, even after the plane crash.