do you know who he was? i sure do. my father is a fight fanatic. i even have a small black and white picture of willie on my living room wall. i personally don't care to actually watch boxing. i think it's barbaric. yet, i'm drawn to it. can't explain it........
Former Boxing Great Willie Pep Dies At Age 84
By TERRY PRICE Special To The Courant November 23 2006
Willie Pep, a fighter for the ages, now belongs to the ages.Regarded by many as the greatest featherweight boxer of all time, Pep died Thursday at West Hill Convalescent Home in Rocky Hill, according to his grandson, William P. Papaleo of Farmington. He was 84.Pep, considered not only a great featherweight but also one of the best fighters pound-for-pound in history, had been in failing health. He had advanced Alzheimer's disease, family members said in September, when Pep was honored during a boxing event at the Connecticut Convention Center.A child of the Depression, Pep fought his way up from the rough streets of Hartford to the top of the boxing world.Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, Pep commanded the ring with a mercurial style that often left opponents grasping at air and spectators gasping in disbelief."He was a moonbeam," said boxing historian and author Bert Randolph Sugar. "You couldn't catch him. ... Pep was music in the ring. People were rhapsodic over him."Pep captured the featherweight championship on two occasions. His total of 230 career wins is believed to be the largest in the history of boxing. He lost only 11 fights with one draw and scored 65 knockouts.Pep, nicknamed "Will o' the Wisp," fought from 1940 to 1966. He won his first 63 pro fights. After his first loss, he was unbeaten in his next 73 fights. His record after 137 fights was 135-1-1................
photo: news.bbc.co.uk/.../images/_1468722_pep150.jpg
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