It's
nearly impossible to do justice to Willie Pep's legacy. Some say he was
the greatest featherweight of all time. Others insist he was
pound-for-pound the best who ever laced up a pair of gloves.
Such platitudes are inherently arbitrary. Perhaps it would be best to remember Pep for this: Legend has it he won a round without throwing a punch, though that has been in dispute over the years.
Such platitudes are inherently arbitrary. Perhaps it would be best to remember Pep for this: Legend has it he won a round without throwing a punch, though that has been in dispute over the years.
The date: July 25, 1946, in Minneapolis against a fighter named Jackie Graves.
Pep had bet Minnesota sportswriter Don Riley $3 that he could win a round without throwing a punch. He even named the round, the third, that he would do it.
``For three minutes Pep moved, taunted, twirled, tied up Graves -- but never threw a punch,'' Riley wrote. ``It was an outstanding display of defensive boxing so adroit, so cunning, so subtle, the 8,000 roaring fans did not notice Pep's tactics were completely without offense.''
Pep won the round on all three cards. Pep knocked Graves down nine times before stopping him in the eighth round. But it was the punch-less round that became the stuff of legends, if it indeed happened. There are some newspaper accounts that say it did not happen.
Still, one of the top boxing writers of his time, Riley said Pep's accomplishment was like, ``A.J. Foyt winning the Indy 500 without a carburetor. It was Jesse Owens winning the Olympics with a broken ankle. It was DiMaggio going 4-for-4 with a broom handle.''
Not unlike many observers, Riley was completely taken with Pep.
Riley wrote, ``He was a shadow ... dancing, weaving, bobbing like a cork in a typhoon. There was lightning in his hands. And when you tried to corner him, it was like trying to capture moonbeams in a fruit jar.
``Willie Pep was there and then he wasn't; a demon, a risen spirit who etched the canvas of the battle pits with the same genius Van Gogh put on the canvas of art. He carried boxing beyond the course, vulgar displays of human carnage.''
Riley said Pep was the greatest fighter he had ever seen. He defined greatest as ``the performance of an athlete which cannot be copied, indulged in or even approached by his peers.''
Pep had bet Minnesota sportswriter Don Riley $3 that he could win a round without throwing a punch. He even named the round, the third, that he would do it.
``For three minutes Pep moved, taunted, twirled, tied up Graves -- but never threw a punch,'' Riley wrote. ``It was an outstanding display of defensive boxing so adroit, so cunning, so subtle, the 8,000 roaring fans did not notice Pep's tactics were completely without offense.''
Pep won the round on all three cards. Pep knocked Graves down nine times before stopping him in the eighth round. But it was the punch-less round that became the stuff of legends, if it indeed happened. There are some newspaper accounts that say it did not happen.
Still, one of the top boxing writers of his time, Riley said Pep's accomplishment was like, ``A.J. Foyt winning the Indy 500 without a carburetor. It was Jesse Owens winning the Olympics with a broken ankle. It was DiMaggio going 4-for-4 with a broom handle.''
Not unlike many observers, Riley was completely taken with Pep.
Riley wrote, ``He was a shadow ... dancing, weaving, bobbing like a cork in a typhoon. There was lightning in his hands. And when you tried to corner him, it was like trying to capture moonbeams in a fruit jar.
``Willie Pep was there and then he wasn't; a demon, a risen spirit who etched the canvas of the battle pits with the same genius Van Gogh put on the canvas of art. He carried boxing beyond the course, vulgar displays of human carnage.''
Riley said Pep was the greatest fighter he had ever seen. He defined greatest as ``the performance of an athlete which cannot be copied, indulged in or even approached by his peers.''
0 comments:
Post a Comment