BoxRec

hype7 wrote:They didn't jump on it because they know the truth or if not they know how to use google; it took me 5 seconds to find the article:



Willie Pep won a round without landing a punch

By B. R. Bearden

In the annuls of boxing there are many "urban myths", tall tales, and outright lies told about the fighters of the past. Did heavyweight William Harrison Dempsey really call himself "Jack" in honor of the great middleweight Jack "The Nonpareil" Dempsey? Did Dempsey have plaster-of-Paris on his hands the day he beat Jess Willard within an inch of his life? Did Joe Louis once give a shiny new half-dollar to a goggle-eyed young fan named Rocky Marciano? Did Ali once draw the smallest attendance for a world heavyweight title fight in the history of the sport? Was Harry Greb really blind in one eye the last 5 years of his career? And did Willie Pep, the Will o' the wisp, really win a round without landing a single punch?

Pep was likened to a tap dancer in boxing gloves. He was fast, he was agile, he was graceful. A Pep fight resembled a ballroom dance with one partner a masterful Fred Astaire and the other apparently lacking a single dance lesson. He was called the Will o' the Wisp because, like that illusive phenomenon, he was almost impossible to lay hands upon.By the age of 20 he had won 54 fights in a row without a loss before taking the featherweight title from future HOF fighter Chalky Wright in a bout in which he never once hurt Wright, but played him like a violin. More precisely, a Stradivarius.Willie would continue to win, losing only once in his next 49 fights (to future Hall of Famer Sammy Angot), before he would be matched against a Top Ten fighter with a 25-2 record named Jackie Graves on July 25th, 1945 in Minneapolis. Graves was a southpaw, and perhaps a sportswriter had hinted that it might cause Pep a problem. Or perhaps Willie was just in the mood to show them something they'd never seen before. Whatever his motivation,prior to the start of the bout, Pep would make a prediction to rival any later made by Muhammed Ali; he would win a round without throwing a single punch.

Not only that, but he would tell them up-front just which round to watch for it; round number three. Bert Sugar said of the audacious feat: "Pep tipped off a few friendly sportswriters that he would not throw a punch in anger in the third round.... Pep moved; Pep switched to southpaw, mocking Graves; Pep danced; Pep weaved; Pep spun Graves around and around again; Pep gave head feints, shoulder feints, foot feints, and feint feints. But Pep never landed a punch." The crowd at ringside sat in spellbound awe as Pep put on perhaps the greatest three minute demonstration on the art of boxing ever witnessed. In just 180 seconds he joined the ranks of those who had done some legendary act to fulfill a fearless prediction; the called-shot of Babe Ruth, the "We're gonna win, I guarantee it!" bravado of Joe Namath, and "They all will fall, in the round I call" predictions of Ali.Sportswriter Don Riley, who was ringside and forewarned of Pep's plan for the third round, said, "It was an amazing display of defensive boxing skill so adroit, so cunning, so subtle that the roaring crowd did not notice Pep's tactics were completely without offense. He made Jim Corbett's agility look like a broken down locomotive. He made even Sugar Ray Robinson's fluidity look like cement hardening. Never has boxing seen such perfection!" He had fought the round without throwing a punch, but had he won it? Was his display so mesmerizing that even the keen eyed judges were beguiled? Pep knocked Graves down 9 times, ending the fight in the 8th round via TKO, but it wasn't the victory the ringside press were excited about; it was the score cards of the judges. When the cards were presented, there it was in black and white; Willie Pep had won the third round, the punchless round, on all three cards. The Will o' the Wisp had given boxing another legendary moment.

Oh, as to those other "did it happens?", here's the run down: Jack Dempsey did name himself after The Nonpareil Dempsey, he didn't put Plaster-of-Paris on his hands (an impossibility sworn to under oath by the inventor of the product), Louis did give a half-dollar to Marciano and another kid as they followed him around at a boxing show where he was guest announcer, Ali-Listion II drew only 2434 fans (the least ever), and Greb was blinded in one eye by Kid Norfolk in 1921, yet kept it a secret and fought successfully the final 5 years of his career and his life. And, of course, Willie Pep did win a round without landing a single punch



http://www.eastsideboxing.com/williepep.html

MightyWarrior wrote:A crap ref, needs to go back to school. His timing sucks, yank was in no real danger. Didn't he mess up the Froch stopage as well?

No wonder FW was fuming at such an uneccesary hometown looking decision, after the earlier blowouts

How many punches did his three stars take tonight, Joe, Amir and Enzo? Two or three total?

HBO must have been mightily impressed! HOW much did that cost again??

Not a whisper of complaint from the ITV commentary boys either.

overhand_right wrote:Although the match making was pathetic, O'Connors needless hometown reffing left an ever fouler aftertaste.

Heres his record as a heavyweight for any who are interested (3 kayos in 44 fights), 20-21 against a veritable Who's Who of low quality late 70s/early 80s journeymen. Did get a draw against Alfredo Evangelista though, which is a decent result for Old Fatty:

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=18102

stujones wrote:Another, in my opinion to the Terry O Connor masterclass refereeng you can add is.

Matt Skelton vs John McDermmott.

I know John went down three times, but I'm not sure any of the KD's were 100% legit and I don't think he was hurt at all in any of the KD... all Skelton did basic was hit and then lean.

overhand_right wrote:Although the match making was pathetic, O'Connors needless hometown reffing left an ever fouler aftertaste.

Heres his record as a heavyweight for any who are interested (3 kayos in 44 fights), 20-21 against a veritable Who's Who of low quality late 70s/early 80s journeymen. Did get a draw against Alfredo Evangelista though, which is a decent result for Old Fatty:

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=18102

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:My memory is appalling but wasn't Terry involved in a couple of controversial fights a few years ago when he was criticised for stopping the action too late?

Manfredo was terrible, not firing back and completely out of his depth.

Perhaps both he and Tatevosyan could have gone on further but these are difficult calls to make when in the heat of the moment. Or maybe I'm just becoming too liberal for this forum, which of late seems to jump on anyone and everyone for entertainment.

Then again, that does seem to be the nature of the beast (and I don't mean big Terry).

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:My memory is appalling but wasn't Terry involved in a couple of controversial fights a few years ago when he was criticised for stopping the action too late?

(Edit - I think this was John Keane)

Manfredo was terrible, not firing back and completely out of his depth.

Perhaps both he and Tatevosyan could have gone on further but these are difficult calls to make when in the heat of the moment. Or maybe I'm just becoming too liberal for this forum, which of late seems to jump on anyone and everyone for entertainment.

Then again, that does seem to be the nature of the beast (and I don't mean big Terry).

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

MightyWarrior wrote:A crap ref, needs to go back to school. His timing sucks, yank was in no real danger. Didn't he mess up the Froch stopage as well?

No wonder FW was fuming at such an uneccesary hometown looking decision, after the earlier blowouts

How many punches did his three stars take tonight, Joe, Amir and Enzo? Two or three total?

HBO must have been mightily impressed! HOW much did that cost again??

Not a whisper of complaint from the ITV commentary boys either.

Actually, I recall McGuigan saying he was very dissapointed by the stoppage in fairness to bazza.

MightyWarrior wrote:A crap ref, needs to go back to school. His timing sucks, yank was in no real danger. Didn't he mess up the Froch stopage as well?

No wonder FW was fuming at such an uneccesary hometown looking decision, after the earlier blowouts

How many punches did his three stars take tonight, Joe, Amir and Enzo? Two or three total?

HBO must have been mightily impressed! HOW much did that cost again??

Not a whisper of complaint from the ITV commentary boys either.

MightyWarrior wrote:

jamesmcdonnell wrote:

MightyWarrior wrote:A crap ref, needs to go back to school. His timing sucks, yank was in no real danger. Didn't he mess up the Froch stopage as well?

No wonder FW was fuming at such an uneccesary hometown looking decision, after the earlier blowouts

How many punches did his three stars take tonight, Joe, Amir and Enzo? Two or three total?

HBO must have been mightily impressed! HOW much did that cost again??

Not a whisper of complaint from the ITV commentary boys either.

Actually, I recall McGuigan saying he was very dissapointed by the stoppage in fairness to bazza.

yeah but I was refering to Duke & John - seemingly terrified of giving FW even the remotest criticism. Barry spoke in the safe knowledge that Frank was saying the exact same thing ringside - so he had the go ahead there.

These bods at ITV act as though they have their hands tied behind their back.

Wonder how HBO covered it - with the contempt it deserved no doubt.

This farce will cost SN in the not so long term.

stujones wrote:John said he thought it was a little premature also, MW. Although it must have been hard for him to really go to town on the reffereeing when the 3 weight world champion who, according to the lay fans that the ITV public is supposed to be aiming at, is supposed to be the expert and the one to provide the analysis is screeming that the ref had "no choice" but to stop it.

Rawling did say on a few occasions that he didn't think Manfredo was hurt at all.

The Blade wrote: HBO loved the whole thing

If you unblock your ears, you will hear John roundly slagged Enzo's opponent as inadequate.

It is McGuigan's job to take observations a step further, which he did.

Mindless criticism threatens boxing in the country.

silkov wrote:I think O'connor did the right thing, Manfredo wasnt fighting back, simple as that... I think Mcguigans attack on Terry was rather low really and was serving to deflect criticism away from the fact that the mismatch had been made in the first place by you know who!... you cant blame O'Connor for the fact that Manfredo was shite and 'fought' a shite fight... in fact he never fought at all...
I'm very disapointed in Mcguigan all round considering he's usually going on about fighters safety blah blah... I know he needs to earn a crust but is he really that desperate??....