BoxRec

Willie Pep had a very long professional boxing career, with many victories.

On January 5, 1947, Willie was involved in an airplane crash. Pep broke one of his legs & back. Despite this, Willie returned to the ring.

After Pep returned to the ring, he lost 10 fights.


Had Willie not been in that plane crash. -------------

1. Do you think that Willie Pep would have beaten Sandy Saddler, Tommy Collins, Lulu Perez, Gil Cadilli, Tommy Tibbs, Hogan Kid Bassey, Sonny Leon, and Calvin Woodland?

If so, why? It not, why not.



Please explain.

His injuries weren't that serious. It's been exaggerated.

He also did beat Sandy Saddler. It's possible he was just about peaking/peaked already. 27/28 years old with around 140/150 mostly distance fights and high competition level is a lot of mileage.

Pep said that he lost his chin due to the plane crash.

Senya13 wrote: ↑04 Sep 2018, 11:19 His injuries weren't that serious. It's been exaggerated.

ahuh.... riiiiiight

1947-01-16 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) (page 13)
Featherweight champion Willie Pep has two split and chipped vertebrae in addition to a fractured leg but the back injury, doctors said yesterday, is not particularly serious or uncommon.

The full extent of Pep's injuries in the crash of an airliner near Millville, N. J. January 5 was revealed after a study of extensive x-rays made possible after the champion had been brought by ambulance to Hartford Hospital from Millville Monday night.

Although the newly discovered injury will necessitate putting the champion's back in a cast, it will not jeopardize his ring career in the opinion of the doctors called into consultation for an examination of the x-rays taken yesterday.

A spokesman for the doctor said this:

"The injury to Pep's vertebrae is not particularly serious or uncommon. Willie should be back in training before very much longer and there is no reason why he should not soon be as well as ever and resume his boxing. The injury is not any more serious than his leg fracture and we don't consider that to be serious."

Pep had been in Miami and was returning to Hartford briefly before embarking on a training program for a bout with Miguel Acavedo in Havana when the plane in which he was a passenger crashed in a snowstorm. Three were killed and 18 injured.

Good find Senya.

I don't know how much the crash really hurt him. He was already well into his prime by the time it happened. Maybe it cut his best years short by a bit, but most of those losses mentioned came way late in his career, anyway. I think age had more to do with it than any residual effects from the crash.