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Mentioning Willie Pep is to speak of the man widely regarded—by eight out of ten old-school fans, and even by modern boxing historians—as the most masterful featherweight ever to step into a ring. Perhaps only his archrival from the distant 1950s, Sandy Saddler, could cast a shadow close to his.
We remember this illustrious Hall of Famer from Canastota, New York—born Gugliermo Papaleo—as November 23 marks nineteen years since his passing in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, the state where he was born.
In The Boxing Record Book (1998 edition), while searching for a historical note, we came across Pep’s entry. Gugliermo Papaleo, of Italian descent, was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on September 19, 1922. The encyclopedia highlights his glittering career, which began on July 25, 1940, when he outpointed Joey Marcus in his professional debut. His journey stretched until 1966—interrupted only by a six-year hiatus between 1959 and 1965—when he finally hung up the gloves after losing a six-round decision to Calvin Woodland on March 16 of that year in Richmond, Virginia.
Veteran boxing writers agree that no featherweight—at 126 pounds (57.15 kg)—can truly be compared to Pep. He embodied skill, speed, distance control, and ring intelligence, all in perfect balance. The Ring magazine ranked him No. 6 among the greatest fighters of all time. Nicknamed “Will o’ the Wisp,” an expression meaning “something elusive or unattainable,” Pep earned that moniker through his elusive, almost ghostlike style—constantly switching stances, slipping punches with subtle head movements, and bewildering opponents with his footwork and rhythm.
Pep was a two-time world champion who ruled the featherweight division for six years. Though not a heavy puncher—unlike his great rival Saddler—he could still end fights early, as reflected in his staggering record: 241 bouts, with 65 knockouts, 11 losses, and only six of those by stoppage.
From his debut, Pep strung together an extraordinary streak of 62 straight victories before tasting defeat for the first time against former lightweight champion Sammy Angott on March 19, 1943. He then added 28 more wins before a draw with Jimmy McAllister in 1946. After that, Pep went on another brilliant run of 41 wins before suffering the first knockout loss of his long career—at the hands of Sandy Saddler on February 11, 1949—losing the title he had won from Sal Bartolo in 1946. Saddler would beat him twice more by knockout in their four encounters, with Pep earning just one victory on points.
The fact that Saddler won three of their four brutal and bloody fights has led some to argue that the Bostonian deserves the top spot among featherweights. But many believe the story might have been different had Pep not suffered a serious airplane crash near Millville, New Jersey, in January 1947. That accident—where roughly twenty people died—left him with two fractured vertebrae and a broken leg, injuries that permanently affected his physical condition and mobility.
The man who coined the timeless boxing creed, “Hit the other guy as much as you can, but don’t let him hit you,” passed away from Alzheimer’s disease on November 23, 2006, at age 84. Fittingly, his fiercest rival, Sandy Saddler, succumbed to the same illness five years earlier, on September 18, 2001.
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