Willie Pep
| Willie Pep | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Guglielmo Papaleo |
| Nickname(s) | Will o' the Wisp |
| Rated at | Featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Reach | 68 in (173 cm) |
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
September 19, 1922 Middletown, Connecticut, United States |
| Died | November 23, 2006 (aged 84) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 241 |
| Wins | 229 |
| Wins by KO | 65 |
| Losses | 11 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Guglielmo Papaleo (September 19, 1922 – November 23, 2006) was an American professional boxer, better known as Willie Pep who held the World Featherweight championship twice between the years of 1947 and 1950. Pep boxed a total of 1,956 rounds in the 241 bouts during his 26-year career, a considerable number of rounds and bouts even for a fighter of his era. His final record was 229-11-1 with 65 knockouts. Pep, known for his speed, finesse and elusiveness, is considered to be one of the best fighters of the 20th century and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Pep was voted as the #1 featherweight of the 20th Century by the Associated Press and ranked the #1 featherweight of all-time by the International Boxing Research Organization in 2005.
Pep first fought as an amateur in 1937. At the time, amateur boxers from Connecticut were allowed to fight for money. It was during the Great Depression hit and Pep's father was earning $15 per week at the Works Progress Administration. Pep worked as a shoeshine boy in downtown Hartford alongside Johnny Duke. Both boys joined a gym together and became sparring partners. Willie was soon earning more in one night of fighting each week. When his parents found out he was boxing, his mother was worried for him, but his father said that if he was making so much fighting on Fridays, maybe he should see about fighting on Tuesdays as well. "My old man, he was a sports fan" Pep later quipped.
In 1938 Pep fought Sugar Ray Robinson in the attic of a feed store in Norwich, CT. Outweighing Pep nearly 130 to 105, the bigger Robinson won by decision. According to Pep's later telling, Robinson was an amateur champion in the state of New York, where amateurs were not paid, so he took a pseudonym to get bouts for money in Connecticut. Because of this, Pep did not know who he was fighting at the time. Before the fight he was told his unknown opponent was not good, but he recalls quickly learning otherwise once the bout began and Robinson was "all over me."
Pep started boxing professionally on July 10, 1940, beating James McGovern by a decision in four rounds in Hartford, Connecticut. Like many boxers of the first half of the 20th century, Pep concentrated his early fighting career on boxing in New England, and he split his first 25 contests between Connecticut and Massachusetts. He was undefeated during that span and for fight number 26, he finally headed 'west,' beating Eddie Flores by a knockout in the first round at Thompsonville, Michigan. A couple of fights later, he travelled further West and made his California debut, beating Billy Spencer by a decision in four at Los Angeles.
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