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(1922-09-19) Middletown, Connecticut, United States
Died	November 23, 2006(2006-11-23) (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 boxer who was better known as Willie Pep. Pep boxed a total of 1956 rounds in the 241 bouts during his 26 year career, a considerable number of rounds and fights even for a fighter of his era. His final record was 229-11-1 with 65 knockouts. Pep, known for his speed and finesse, is considered to be one of the best fighters of the 20th century and was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

Boxing career

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.

By the time Pep stepped up his quality of opposition when he met world title challenger Joey Archibald in 1942, he was already 41-0. He beat Archibald by a decision in ten rounds and, in his next bout, challenged Abe Denner for the New England-area featherweight title. He won the fight by a decision in 12, and his status among the world's top featherweights kept on rising.

He won ten more bouts to reach 52-0, including a rematch win over Archibald, before he was given his first world championship try in October of that year. He became the world's featherweight champion by outpointing the defending world champ Chalky Wright, over the 15 round distance. He fought twice more to finish the year, winning both by knockout.

Pep began 1943 by winning six bouts in a row to find himself with a record of 61-0.(Correction "Boxrec" lists *62* wins with no losses before Pep's first loss.) But in his seventh bout of 1943, he suffered his first defeat, at the hands of Sammy Angott, another world champion boxer. Angott beat Pep over the ten round distance, by decision. Ten days later, Pep was back in the ring, beating Bobby McIntyre by a decision. He closed 1943 winning five fights in a row, including two over future world champion Sal Bartolo and one over Jackie Wilson. The second win over Bartolo was in a defense of the world title.

1944 was a very good year for Pep. He won all 16 of his bouts that year, including wins over world bantamweight champions Willie Joyce and Manuel Ortiz, fringe contender Jackie Lemus and Wright, who was beaten two more times, one time with Pep's crown on the line. He also made his first fight abroad, because the fight with Lemus was held in Canada.

He had eight fights in 1945, winning seven and drawing one. He beat former world champion Phil Terranova to retain the title, and had a ten round draw with Jimmy McAllister.

In 1946, Pep had 18 fights, and won all of them, including a 12-round knockout of Bartolo and a three round knockout of Wright. He had a 6-fight knockout win streak during a span that year.

Pep had 10 bouts in 1947, once again, going undefeated. He retained the world's featherweight belt once that year, knocking out Jock Leslie in 12 rounds at Flint, Michigan.

But he was severely injured in a plane crash January 5 of that year. Many thought he had lost something as a fighter especially after unexpectedly struggling in fights against Archie Wilmer (Pep won a majority decision) and Pedro Biesca (Pep was floored in the fourth round).

1948 was a year that would become important in Pep's life: He won 15 bouts before going into what would be the first fight of his four-fight series with Sandy Saddler. He retained the title by beating Humberto Sierra by a knockout in 10, and he beat former world champion Paddy DeMarco, also in ten, but by decision. Then, on October 29, he lost the world featherweight title to Saddler in a four-round knockout.

After two wins, he and Saddler met in 1949. On their rivalry's second installment, Pep recovered the world's featherweight championship by beating Saddler by a 15 round decision, and then he engaged in a series of exhibition and ten round bouts before defending the crown against Eddie Campo, winning by a knockout in the seventh. He finished that year beating former bantamweight champion Harold Dade by a decision in ten at St. Louis.

In 1950, he won nine fights before meeting Saddler for a third time. Those nine bouts included defenses against Charlie Riley, knocked out in five, and France's Ray Famechon, beaten by decision in 15. Then came the third fight with Saddler, and Pep once again lost his world featherweight championship to Saddler, being knocked out in the eighth round.

1951 brought over a hint of controversy to Pep's life. He won eight bouts in a row to start the year, but his ninth bout, the last chapter of the rivalry with Saddler, was his most important bout that year and the one that he lost. He was knocked out in nine by Saddler.

In 1952, Pep had 12 fights, winning 11. He was knocked out in six by Tommy Collins but also held two wins over Billy Lima that year.

Pep won all 11 fights in 1953, and entered 1954 on a 17-fight winning streak. After beating David Seabrooke by a decision, he met fringe contender Lulu Perez. Pep lost by a knockout in two rounds. Pep ended up winning three more bouts before the end of the year.

Pep went on boxing for 5 more years, retiring in 1960, and then he came back in 1964 and boxed for two more years. During that last period of his boxing career, he won 43 bouts and lost only 5, but his only opponent of note during that time was Hogan Kid Bassey, a future world featherweight champion who knocked Pep out in nine rounds. Pep boxed in Venezuela, losing to Sonny Leon by a decision in ten, and in his last fight, in 1966, he lost to Calvin Woodland by a decision in six.

Pep once fought Sugar Ray Robinson in an attic in Norwich, CT.^{[citation needed]}

Life after his fighting career

After retiring, he and Saddler involved in a series of exhibition bouts, and in 1980, Pep sued Sports Illustrated for running a story suggesting that he threw his fight with Perez. Pep lost the lawsuit, the jury deliberating just 15 minutes.

Pep remained active in boxing after hanging up the gloves, serving as an inspector and referee.

In 1977, Pep was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1990, Pep was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame as a member of the Hall's original class. Pep, who enjoyed giving out autographs to his fans, worked there as a volunteer alongside fellow former world champion boxer and friend Carmen Basilio.^{[citation needed]}

As of March 2006, Pep resided at a nursing home in Connecticut, suffering from Dementia pugilistica, before his death on November 23, 2006. He is buried in Rocky Hill, CT. He has two children: William "Billy" Papaleo and Mary Papaleo. Both reside in Wethersfield, CT.

Pep had a record of 229 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 65 wins by knockout.

Pep was ranked 6th on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years in 2002. Pep was also named the 3rd greatest fighter of all time by Bert Sugar.

Pep was ranked 5th on ESPN,s 50 Greatest Boxers Of All time list in 2007.

References in Popular Culture

• In the episode of the television series M*A*S*H, "The Kids" (Season 4, episode 8) where the camp plays host to a group of Korean orphans with a wounded pregnant woman, Father Mulcahy informs Frank Burns that during his amateur boxing career, "they wanted me in Willie Pep's stable".

Miscellaneous

• There are claims that Pep won the third round in his fight against Jackie Graves in a fight on July 25, 1946, without throwing a punch. The 'no-punch' winning round is disputed out of claims that Pep threw a punch. Pep supposedly tipped off a few ringside reporters before the bout and told them he would win the third round without throwing 'a punch of anger'.

Professional boxing record

229 Wins (65 knockouts, 164 decisions), 11 Losses (6 knockouts, 5 decisions), 1 Draw [2]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	8-4	Calvin Woodland	UD	6	16/03/1966	Richmond, Virginia, United States
Win	10-21-3	Ray Coleman	KO	5	25/10/1965	Tucson, Arizona, United States
Win	1-7	Sergio Musquiz	TKO	5	14/10/1965	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	12-12	Tommy Haden	TKO	3	04/10/1965	Providence, Rhode Island, United States	Fight stopped at 1:33 in the third round.
Win	9-6-1	Willie Little	TKO	3	01/10/1965	Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States	Fight stopped at 1:06 in the third round.
Win	3-8-2	Johnny Gilmore	PTS	6	28/09/1965	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	4-10-1	Benny Red Randall	UD	10	26/07/1965	Quebec City, Quebec, Canada	Randall was knocked down in the first round.
Win	3-7-2	Johnny Gilmore	UD	6	21/05/1965	Norwalk, Connecticut, United States
Win	8-10-3	Jackie Lennon	UD	6	26/04/1965	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	2-9-1	Harold McKeever	UD	8	11/03/1965	Miami, Florida, United States	80-74, 78-77, 78-75
Loss	29-8-7	Sonny Leon	UD	10	26/01/1959	Caracas, Venezuela	Pep was knocked down in the third, sixth & eighth rounds.
Loss	56-11-2	Hogan (Kid) Bassey	TKO	9	20/09/1958	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	Pep was knocked down thrice in the ninth round before the referee stopped the fight.
Win	11-46-2	Al Duarte	UD	10	26/08/1958	North Adams, Massachusetts, United States	Duarte was a substitute for Manuel Baptista.
Win	17-16-1	Jesse Rodriguez	UD	10	09/08/1958	Painesville, Ohio, United States
Win	3-17-3	Luis Carmona	UD	10	04/08/1958	Presque Isle, Maine, United States
Win	44-35-8	Bobby Bell	UD	10	17/07/1958	Norwood, Massachusetts, United States
Win	21-18-1	Bobby Soares	UD	10	01/07/1958	Athol, Massachusetts, United States
Win	37-33-10	Pat McCoy	UD	10	23/06/1958	New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Win	13-6-2	Bobby Singleton	UD	10	20/05/1958	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	100-91, 100-85, 100-90.
Win	15-0	Jimmy Kelly	UD	10	29/04/1958	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win	9-23-3	Cleo Ortiz	UD	10	14/04/1958	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Win	8-15-2	George Stephany	PTS	10	08/04/1958	Bristol, Connecticut, United States
Win	13-4-2	Prince Johnson	UD	10	31/03/1958	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Loss	45-44-3	Tommy Tibbs	SD	10	14/01/1958	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	96-97, 97-98, 96-95.
Win	14-0-1	Jimmy Connors	UD	10	17/12/1957	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	99-88, 99-91, 96-93.
Win	44-16-5	Russell "Baby Faced" Tague	UD	10	23/07/1957	Houston, Texas, United States
Win	6-16-3	Manny Castro	UD	10	16/07/1957	El Paso, Texas, United States
Win	6-15-3	Manny Castro	UD	10	10/05/1957	Florence, South Carolina, United States	98-95, 99-96, 99-94.
Win	16-12-6	Cesar Morales	PTS	10	23/04/1957	Ft Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Win	13-18-2	Hector Bacquettes	TKO	5	04/07/1956	Lawton, Oklahoma, United States
Win	40-10-4	Russell "Baby Faced" Tague	UD	10	19/06/1956	Miami Beach, Florida, United States	97-95, 96-95, 98-93.
Win	29-19-3	Manuel Armenteros	RTD	6	22/05/1956	San Antonio, Texas, United States	Armenteros did not emerge from his corner for the seventh round.
Win	83-30-9	Jackie Blair	PTS	10	17/04/1956	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	20-25-4	Buddy "The Little Professor" Baggett	PTS	10	27/03/1956	Beaumont, Texas, United States
Win	8-18-1	Kid Campeche	UD	10	16/03/1956	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	17-5-4	Andy Arel	UD	10	28/12/1955	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	4-4	Leo Carter	TKO	4	13/12/1955	Houston, Texas, United States
Win	62-17-2	Henry "Pappy" Gault	UD	10	29/11/1955	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	56-25-10	Charley Titone	UD	10	10/10/1955	Brockton, Massachusetts, United States
Win	61-16-2	Henry "Pappy" Gault	UD	10	27/09/1955	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	8-12-5	Jimmy Ithia	TKO	6	13/09/1955	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	15-8-1	Hector Rodriguez	PTS	10	12/07/1955	Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States	50-27.
Win	15-6	Mickey Mars	TKO	7	14/06/1955	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	31-7	Joey Cam	TKO	4	01/06/1955	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	Referee stopped the fight between the third and fourth round due to a severe cut.
Win	22-3-3	Gil Cadilli	UD	10	18/05/1955	Detroit, Michigan, United States	100-82, 99-87, 99-87.
Loss	21-3-3	Gil Cadilli	SD	10	30/03/1955	Parks AFB, California, United States	58-52, 54-56, 54-56.
Win	56-22-10	Charley Titone	UD	10	22/03/1955	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	13-21-2	Merrill Olmstead	PTS	10	11/03/1955	Bennington, Vermont, United States
Win	15-46-8	Mario "Eladio" Colon	PTS	10	01/11/1954	Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Win	19-10-3	Til LeBlanc	UD	10	18/08/1954	Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Win	7-3-1	Mike Tourcotte	UD	10	24/07/1954	Mobile, Alabama, United States
Loss	27-2	Lulu Perez	TKO	2	26/02/1954	New York, New York, United States	Pep was knocked down thrice in the second round and was declared knocked out due to the three knock down rule. Boxing analysts claim that Pep took a dive during this fight.
Win	16-17	Davey Seabrook	PTS	10	19/01/1954	Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Win	34-18-8	Tony Longo	UD	10	15/12/1953	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	54-40-6	Billy Lima	KO	2	08/12/1953	Houston, Texas, United States
Win	43-13-5	Davey Allen	PTS	10	04/12/1953	West Palm Beach, Florida, United States	8-1.
Win	62-28-5	Sonny Luciano	UD	10	21/11/1953	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Win	35-11-2	Pat Marcune	TKO	10	05/06/1953	New York City, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:12 of the tenth round. Marcune was knocked down in the fifth round.
Win	72-21-8	Jackie Blair	UD	10	13/05/1953	Ft Worth, Texas, United States	99-93, 100-87, 99-83. Pep was knocked down in the tenth round.
Win	9-5-4	Noel Paquette	UD	10	07/04/1953	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	9-1-3	Joey Gambino	UD	10	31/03/1953	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	39-16-4	Pepe Alvarez	PTS	10	10/02/1953	San Antonio, Texas, United States	Alvarez was knocked down in the tenth round.
Win	23-14-7	Dave Mitchell	UD	10	27/01/1953	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	31-5-14	Billy Lauderdale	UD	10	19/01/1953	Nassau, Bahamas, Bahamas	Lauderdale was knocked down in the eighth round.
Win	23-21-4	Jorge Sanchez	PTS	10	05/12/1952	West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Win	46-15-4	Fabela Chavez	UD	10	19/11/1952	St Louis, Missouri, United States	58-42, 58-42, 58-42.
Win	4-9-1	Manny Castro	TKO	5	05/11/1952	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	51-33-6	Billy Lima	UD	10	20/10/1952	Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Win	38-8-5	Armand Savoie	UD	10	01/10/1952	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	27-12-5	Bobby Woods	UD	10	11/09/1952	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	49-43, 48-42, 50-41.
Win	51-30-6	Billy Lima	PTS	10	03/09/1952	Pensacola, Florida, United States
Loss	53-9	Tommy Collins	TKO	6	30/06/1952	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 0:51 of the sixth round.
Win	20-7-2	Claude Hammond	UD	10	21/05/1952	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	18-12-3	Buddy Baggett	KO	5	10/05/1952	Aiken, South Carolina, United States	Baggett knocked out at 1:50 in the fifth round.
Win	3-14	Kenny Leach	PTS	10	05/05/1952	Columbus, Georgia, United States
Win	3-0	Santiago Gonzales	UD	10	29/04/1952	Tampa, Florida, United States
Loss	127-9-2	Sandy Saddler	RTD	9	26/09/1951	New York City, United States	World Featherweight Title. Pep retired in the ninth round complaining of severe pain caused by a severe cut.
Win	53-4	Corky Gonzales	UD	10	04/09/1951	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States	9-1, 9-1, 9-1.
Win	9-23-3	Jesus Compos	PTS	10	04/06/1951	Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Win	29-2-2	Eddie Chavez	SD	10	27/04/1951	San Francisco, California, United States
Win	17-5-3	Baby Neff Ortiz	TKO	5	17/04/1951	St Louis, Missouri, United States	Ortiz was knocked down three times before the referee stopped the fight in the fifth round.
Win	51-14-8	Pat Iacobucci	UD	10	26/03/1951	Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Win	52-14-8	Carlos Chavez	UD	10	05/03/1951	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	8-18-1	Eddie Webb	TKO	2	26/02/1951	Sarasota, Florida, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:05 of the second round.
Win	16-19-3	Tommy Baker	TKO	4	30/01/1951	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:29 of the fourth round. Pep suffered a severe cut due to an accidental headbut.
Loss	114-7-2	Sandy Saddler	RTD	8	08/09/1950	Bronx, New York, United States	World Featherweight Title. Pep separated his shoulder in the seventh round and could not emerge from his corner in the eighth round. Pep was knocked down in the third round.
Win	28-23-2	Proctor Heinhold	PTS	10	02/08/1950	Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	28-16-2	Bobby Bell	UD	10	25/07/1950	Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Win	30-25-3	Bobby Timpson	UD	10	26/06/1950	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	68-22-5	Terry Young	UD	10	01/06/1950	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Win	13-11-2	Asuncion Llanos	KO	2	15/05/1950	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Llanos knocked out at 1:10 of the second round.
Win	59-5	Ray Famechon	UD	15	17/03/1950	New York City, United States	World Featherweight Title. 10-3, 12-3, 9-3.
Win	60-16-4	Jimmy Warren	UD	10	22/02/1950	Miami, Florida, United States
Win	60-16-4	Jimmy Warren	UD	10	22/02/1950	Miami, Florida, United States
Win	68-15-4	Roy Andrews	UD	10	06/02/1950	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	Andrews was knocked down in the first round.
Win	52-11-1	"Chillin" Charley Riley	KO	5	16/01/1950	St Louis, Missouri, United States	World Featherweight Title. Riley knocked out at 1:05 of the fifth round.
Win	37-13-4	Harold Dade	PTS	10	12/12/1949	St Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	57-1-3	Eddie Compo	TKO	7	20/09/1949	Waterbury, Connecticut, United States	World Featherweight Title. Compo was knocked down twice in the fifth and once in the seventh before the referee stopped the fight at 0:41 of the seventh round.
Win	16-12-1	Jean Mougin	UD	10	12/07/1949	Syracuse, New York, United States	7-2, 4-2, 5-3.
Win	45-20-3	Johnny LaRusso	UD	10	20/06/1949	West Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
Win	40-26-6	Al Pennino	UD	10	14/06/1949	Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States
Win	10-13	Luis Ramos	PTS	10	06/06/1949	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	91-6-2	Sandy Saddler	UD	15	11/02/1949	New York City, United States	World Featherweight Title. 10-5, 9-5, 9-6. 1949 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year.
Win	23-27-3	Teddy "Redtop" Davis	PTS	10	17/01/1949	St Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	39-5-2	Hermie Freeman	UD	10	20/12/1948	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Loss	85-6-2	Sandy Saddler	KO	4	29/10/1948	New York City, United States	World Featherweight Title. Pep was knocked down twice in the third round and out in the fourth round at 2:38.
Win	43-13-3	Johnny LaRusso	PTS	10	19/10/1948	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	10-12-4	Chuck Burton	PTS	8	12/10/1948	Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Win	32-2	Paddy DeMarco	UD	10	10/09/1948	New York City, United States	5-3, 8-2, 6-3.
Win	30-19-6	Johnny Dell	TKO	8	02/09/1948	Waterbury, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the fight due to a lack of competition.
Win	22-18-3	Teddy "Redtop" Davis	PTS	10	17/08/1948	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	8-1.
Win	22-17-3	Teddy "Redtop" Davis	PTS	10	03/08/1948	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	49-46.
Win	29-15-4	Young Junior	KO	1	28/07/1948	Utica, New York, United States	Young knocked out at 2:45 of the first round.
Win	22-3-2	Luther Burgess	PTS	10	25/06/1948	Flint, Michigan, United States
Win	41-10-4	Miguel Acevedo	PTS	10	17/06/1948	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Win	53-30-3	Charley Cabey Lewis	UD	10	19/05/1948	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Win	27-10-3	Leroy Willis	UD	10	07/05/1948	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Win	37-7-3	Humberto Sierra	TKO	10	24/02/1948	Miami, Florida, United States	World Featherweight Title. Sierra was knocked down in the second and the tenth rounds when the referee stopped the fight at 0:22 in the tenth round.
Win	34-8-1	Joey Angelo	UD	10	19/01/1948	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win	52-24-2	Jimmy McAllister	PTS	10	12/01/1948	St Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	10-19-3	Pedro Biesca	PTS	10	06/01/1948	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Pep was knocked down in the fourth round.
Win	109-48-9	Lefty LaChance	TKO	8	30/12/1947	Manchester, New Hampshire, United States	LaChance was knocked down in the second and sixth rounds. Referee stopped the fight in the eighth round due to a severe cut.
Win	9-14	Alvaro Estrada	UD	10	22/12/1947	Lewiston, Maine, United States	Estrada was knocked down seven times in the fight.
Win	26-16-1	Archie Wilmer	MD	10	27/10/1947	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States	5-4-1, 7-3, 5-5.
Win	36-26-2	Jean Barriere	KO	1	21/10/1947	Portland, Maine, United States	Barriere knocked down at 2:07 in the first round.
Win	56-9-4	Jock Leslie	KO	12	22/08/1947	Flint, Michigan, United States	World Featherweight Title. Referee stopped the fight mid-count after a knockdown at 0:45 of the 12th round.
Win	35-6-3	Humberto Sierra	PTS	10	23/07/1947	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	34-41-3	Paulie Jackson	UD	10	15/07/1947	New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Win	34-25-2	Jean Barriere	KO	4	11/07/1947	North Adams, Massachusetts, United States
Win	20-41-13	Leo LeBrun	PTS	8	08/07/1947	Norwalk, Connecticut, United States
Win	77-25-12	Joey Fontana	KO	5	01/07/1947	Albany, New York, United States	Fontana was knocked down in the first round and out at 1:00 of the fifth round.
Win	159-40-17	Chalky Wright	KO	3	27/11/1946	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States	Wright knocked out at 1:05 of the third round. Pep was involved in a plane crash after this fight and wouldn't fight again for seven months.
Win	10-7-1	Tomas Beato	KO	2	15/11/1946	Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Win	32-35-3	Paulie Jackson	PTS	10	01/11/1946	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Win	101-37-9	Lefty LaChance	TKO	3	17/09/1946	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:47 of the third round.
Win	19-0-1	Walter Kolby	TKO	5	04/09/1946	Buffalo, New York, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:26 of the fifth round.
Win	32-14-3	Doll Rafferty	KO	6	26/08/1946	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States	Rafferty knocked out at 1:10 of the sixth round.
Win	37-2	Jackie "The Austin Atom" Graves	TKO	8	25/07/1946	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:52 of the eighth round.
Win	72-17-5	Sal Bartolo	KO	12	07/06/1946	New York City, United States	NYSAC/NBA World Featherweight Title. Bartolo was knocked out at 2:41 of the 12th round.
Win	29-32-5	Jimmy Joyce	PTS	8	27/05/1946	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Win	26-38-9	Jose Aponte Torres	UD	10	22/05/1946	St Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	22-3-1	Joey Angelo	UD	10	13/05/1946	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Win	30-27-6	Ernie Petrone	PTS	10	06/05/1946	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	17-35-2	Georgie Knox	TKO	3	08/04/1946	Providence, Rhode Island, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:45 of the third round.
Win	99-31-7	Jackie Wilson	UD	10	26/03/1946	Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win	40-15-1	Jimmy McAllister	KO	2	01/03/1946	New York City, United States	McAllister was knocked out at 2:44 of the second round.
Win	27-28-5	Jimmy Joyce	PTS	10	13/02/1946	Buffalo, New York, United States
Win	22-8	Johnny Virgo	KO	2	15/01/1946	Buffalo, New York, United States
style="background: #c5d2ea"|Draw	37-15	Jimmy McAllister	PTS	10	13/12/1945	Baltimore, Maryland, United States	Pep was knocked down in the second round.
Win	15-18	Harold Gibson	PTS	10	05/12/1945	Lewiston, Maine, United States	Gibson was knocked down five times in the ninth round.
Win	31-8-2	Eddie Giosa	PTS	10	26/11/1945	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win	28-13-3	Mike Martyk	TKO	5	05/11/1945	Buffalo, New York, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 2:39 of the fifth round.
Win	28-26-3	Paulie Jackson	PTS	8	30/10/1945	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	36-11-9	Phil Terranova	UD	15	19/02/1945	New York City, United States	NYSAC World Featherweight Title. 10-3-2, 10-5, 12-2-1.
Win	35-40-4	"Whistling" Willie Roache	UD	10	05/02/1945	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	14-8-6	Ralph Walton	PTS	10	23/01/1945	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	150-33-17	Chalky Wright	UD	10	05/12/1944	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	57-16-4	Pedro Hernandez	PTS	10	17/11/1944	Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Win	25-10-2	Charley Cabey Lewis	PTS	10	14/11/1944	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Pep was knocked down in the fourth round. 48-37.
Win	16-8-2	Jackie Leamus	UD	10	25/10/1944	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	150-32-17	Chalky Wright	UD	15	29/09/1944	New York City, United States	NYSAC World Featherweight Title.
Win	24-8-2	Charley Cabey Lewis	TKO	8	19/09/1944	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Lewis was knocked down in the eighth before the referee stopped the fight at 1:52 in the same round.
Win	37-28-10	Joey Peralta	PTS	10	28/08/1944	West Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
Win	88-11-6	Lulu Constantino	PTS	10	04/08/1944	Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Win	59-11-2	Manuel Ortiz	UD	10	05/12/1944	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win	52-9-7	Willie Joyce	PTS	10	07/07/1944	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	67-21-13	Julie Kogon	PTS	10	06/06/1944	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	35-16-1	Joey Bagnato	KO	2	23/05/1944	Buffalo, New York, United States	Bagnato knocked out at 1:03 of the second round.
Win	28-14-5	Frankie Rubino	PTS	10	19/05/1944	Chicago, Illinois, United States	60-40.
Win	11-6-2	Jackie Leamus	PTS	10	01/05/1944	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	68-27-12	Snooks Lacey	PTS	10	20/04/1944	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	1-4-4	Leo Francis	PTS	10	05/12/1944	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Pep was knocked down in the fourth round.
Win	46-15-5	Sal Bartolo	UD	15	08/06/1943	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	NYSAC World Featherweight Title.
Win	90-24-7	Jackie Wilson	PTS	12	26/04/1943	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	7-6-3	Angel Aviles	PTS	10	19/04/1943	Tampa, Florida, United States
Win	46-14-5	Sal Bartolo	SD	10	09/04/1943	Boston, Massachusetts, United States	Bartolo was knocked down in the first round and Pep was knocked down in the sixth round.
Win	50-29-5	Bobby McIntire	UD	10	29/03/1943	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Loss	69-17-5	Sammy "The Clutch" Angott	UD	10	19/03/1943	New York City, United States	4-5, 4-5, 4-6.
Win	31-25-1	Lou Transparenti	KO	6	02/03/1943	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Transparenti was knocked down six times in the fight.
Win	29-15-1	Bill Speary	PTS	10	15/02/1943	Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Win	28-39-15	Davey Crawford	PTS	10	11/02/1943	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win	49-6-2	Allie Stolz	PTS	10	29/01/1943	New York City, United States
Win	29-14-1	Bill Speary	PTS	10	19/01/1943	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	48-34-5	Vince Dell'Orto	PTS	10	04/01/1943	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	20-46-8	Joey Silva	RTD	9	21/12/1942	Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Win	13-7-6	Jose Aponte Torres	TKO	7	14/12/1942	Washington, District of Columbia, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 0:45 of the seventh round.
Win	131-30-16	Chalky Wright	UD	15	20/11/1942	New York City, United States	NYSAC World Featherweight Title. 10-4, 11-4, 11-4.
Win	56-30-7	George Zengaras	PTS	10	27/10/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	60-35-5	Joey Archibald	UD	10	16/10/1942	Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Win	48-24-5	Bobby McIntire	PTS	10	05/10/1942	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	47-31-5	Vince Dell'Orto	PTS	10	22/09/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	9-2-2	Frank Franconeri	TKO	1	10/09/1942	New York City, United States	Franconeri was knocked down thrice before the referee stopped the fight at 2:07 of the first round.
Win	48-16-9	Bobby Poison Ivy	TKO	10	01/09/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:10 of the tenth round.
Win	69-32-5	Nat Litfin	PTS	10	20/08/1942	West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	48-10-4	Pedro Hernandez	PTS	10	11/08/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	17-42-7	Joey Silva	RTD	7	01/08/1942	Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Win	32-15-1	Abe Denner	PTS	12	21/07/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	New England Featherweight Title.
Win	60-31-5	Joey Archibald	PTS	10	23/06/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	34-8-4	Joey Iannotti	PTS	8	26/05/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	26-8-4	Aaron Seltzer	PTS	8	12/05/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	26-8-6	Curley Nichols	PTS	8	04/05/1942	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	31-20-3	Spider Armstrong	KO	4	14/04/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Armstrong was knocked out at 2:40 of the fourth round.
Win	39-29-15	Johnny Compo	PTS	8	18/03/1942	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	9-19-3	Willie Roache	PTS	8	24/02/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	20-11-1	Angelo Callura	PTS	8	10/02/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	28-26-9	Abie Kaufman	PTS	8	27/01/1942	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	23-3-4	Sammy Parotta	PTS	4	16/01/1942	New York City, United States
Win	0-10	Mexican Joe Rivers	TKO	4	08/01/1942	Fall River, Massachusetts, United States
Win	9-7-3	Ruby Garcia	PTS	4	12/12/1941	New York City, United States
Win	17-29-10	Davey Crawford	PTS	8	24/11/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	1-1-3	Buddy Spencer	PTS	4	07/11/1941	Hollywood, California, United States
Win	2-11-2	Connie Savoie	TKO	2	21/10/1941	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	2-4-1	Carlos Manzano	PTS	8	09/10/1941	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	10-1-4	Jackie Harris	TKO	1	25/09/1941	New Haven, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 2:37 of the first round.
Win	4-10-2	Eddie Flores	KO	1	11/08/1941	Thompsonville, Connecticut, United States	Flores was knocked out at 2:30 of the first round.
Win	3-8-2	Paul "The Blonde Tiger" Frechette	TKO	3	05/08/1941	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 1:40 of the third round.
Win	50-38-6	Jimmy Gilligan	PTS	8	15/07/1941	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	1-3-2	Eddie DeAngelis	TKO	3	24/06/1941	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	4-4	Harry Hintlian	PTS	6	19/06/1941	Manchester, Connecticut, United States
Win	8-31-5	Johnny Cockfield	PTS	6	12/05/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	4-12-1	Lou Pugliese	KO	2	06/05/1941	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Pugliese knocked out at 1:30 of the second quarter.
Win	13-30-6	Joey Silva	PTS	6	22/04/1941	Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Referee stopped the fight at 2:37 of the first round.
Win	13-1-2	Henry Vasquez	PTS	6	14/04/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	8-10-4	Joey Gatto	KO	2	31/03/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States	Gatto knocked out at 2:20 of the second round.
Win	1-1-1	Marty Shapiro	PTS	6	25/03/1941	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	6-1-1	Ruby Garcia	UD	6	03/03/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	5-0-1	Ruby Garcia	UD	6	17/02/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States	Pep was knocked down in the fifth round.
Win	5-4-1	Don Lyons	KO	2	10/02/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States	Lyons was knocked down twice and out in the second round.
Win	--	Augie Almeda	TKO	6	28/01/1941	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	3-22-5	Joe Echevarria	PTS	6	13/01/1941	Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Win	--	Jim Mutane	KO	2	06/12/1940	New Britain, Connecticut, United States
Win	1-1	Frank Topazio	TKO	5	29/11/1940	New Britain, Connecticut, United States	Topazio knocked out at 2:45 of the fifth round.
Win	6-16-2	Carlo Daponde	TKO	6	22/11/1940	New Britain, Connecticut, United States
Win	--	Jimmy McAllister	PTS	4	24/10/1940	New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Win	--	Jimmy Riche	TKO	3	03/10/1940	Waterbury, Connecticut, United States	Riche knocked out at 2:02 of the third round.
Win	--	Jack Moore	PTS	6	19/09/1940	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	0-1	Joey Marcus	PTS	4	05/09/1940	Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Win	5-11-1	Tommy Burns	TKO	1	29/08/1940	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	4-7-1	Joey Wasnick	KO	3	08/08/1940	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Win	--	Joey Marcus	PTS	4	25/07/1940	Hartford, Connecticut, United States

External links

• Professional boxing record for Willie Pep from BoxRec
• Willie Pep at Find a Grave

Awards
Preceded by Beau Jack	Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year 1945	Succeeded by Tony Zale