Willie Pep

Among the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time, Willie Pep (1922-2006) was a virtuoso of the squared circle. A two-time World Featherweight Champion, his International Boxing Hall of Fame professional record stands at 230 wins, 11 losses and one draw, with 65 knockouts and two winning streaks of more than 62 victories--each longer than most modern fighters' careers. During his 26 years in the ring, he appeared on cards with everyone from Fritzie Zivic to Joe Frazier. A scientific boxer with balletic defensive skills and a stiff jab, Pep--known as "Will o' the Wisp"--so masterfully evaded his opponents, one remarked it was like battling a man in a room full of mirrors. This book covers his remarkable career, with highlights of each bout.

Any discussion of great boxers must include Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler—midcentury featherweight champions whose heroics electrified the fistic world then and reverberate today. This book explores the boxing lives of both pugilists—early years, fighting years, training and conditioning, historical context, life after boxing, and, of course, the lasting controversy over their rivalry and legacy. Pep recorded 229 wins, only 11 losses and one draw over a pro career that spanned three decades. He won the featherweight crown twice. Sandy Saddler’s record of 144-16-2 includes an amazing 103 knockouts. He also won the title twice and retired an undefeated featherweight champion. Their four title bouts are an epic showcase of contrasts. Pep was the exquisite dancer/boxer, a wildly popular Italian American personality who made his opponents miss and scored at will. Saddler was a curious blend of unprepossessing menace—a tall, thin, black American banger who pressed and brutalized with singular leveraged force. Their matchups had it all: contrasting styles, dazzling skills, hard punching, splendid action, ridiculous brawling, heroic victories and crashing defeats. Included in this book are Pep’s plane crash and recovery as well as the legal wrangling with Newsweek over his boxing reputation. Saddler’s ongoing slight in boxing history and secondary status with Pep is examined under fresh light. The text is highlighted with several images of both fighters that bring to life the fierce glory of professional boxing in the 1940s and 50s.

Among the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time, Willie Pep (1922-2006) was a virtuoso of the squared circle. A two-time World Featherweight Champion, his International Boxing Hall of Fame professional record stands at 230 wins, 11 losses and one draw, with 65 knockouts and two winning streaks of more than 62 victories--each longer than most modern fighters' careers. During his 26 years in the ring, he appeared on cards with everyone from Fritzie Zivic to Joe Frazier. A scientific boxer with balletic defensive skills and a stiff jab, Pep--known as "Will o' the Wisp"--so masterfully evaded his opponents, one remarked it was like battling a man in a room full of mirrors. This book covers his remarkable career, with highlights of each bout.

This book was written by Connie White at the age of 15. Upon being reunited with her mother after nearly 10 years of separation, Connie, began to journal the life she experienced while living with her father. She takes you from the origins of child abuse and incest, which manifested suicidal ideation and ultimately, attempting to take the life of her oppressor, her father. For nearly 25 years, her journal sat. Not until after Connie had become a mental health practitioner and minister of the gospel was her mission revealed. Her life experiences would be used to understand and empower others in similar situations. Finding that people must process what is surpressed before healing can take place, this book is geared toward the abused, abuser, professionals who work with them and the bystander. This book is so unique because it was written, through the eyes of a child.

Friday Night World is an homage to the author’s favorite boxers of the 1950s. While some of them are still well known but others aren’t, they have one thing in common: they are all courageous athletes. At the same time, the book is a memoir about growing up in New Haven during the fifties era. You’ll also be treated to reviews of books about boxing by Joyce Carol Oates, George Plimpton, Richard Kaletsky, Budd Schulberg, and others as well as to personal essays about the sweet science.

This is the only independent biography of Bruce Lee, and it is complete in terms of both the martial arts and the movies.

Willie Pep was a boxing artist, following a tradition begun by James J. Corbett via Benny Leonard and culminating in Boxing's golden age in the 30s and 40s. Pep was the personification of what boxing is about 'hit without being hit'. But Pep's style was so unusual - although not the best kept secret in town: in over a quarter of a century Pep fought over 200 bouts - but his records never have been and are ever unlikely to be reproduced.

Although the town benefits from a position on a major navigable waterway, Middletowns success is primarily due to the energy, creativity, and diversity of its people. These include James Riley, whose autobiography detailing his trials as a white slave in Northern Africa showed millions of Americans the evils of slavery; Max Corvo, who helped the World War II Italian underground defeat the fascist regime; and Christie Ellen McLeod, longtime chief pathologist at Middlesex Memorial Hospital. Middletown can boast of athletes such as Helen Babe Carlson, a tremendously strong competitor who participated on mens baseball teams; Willie Pep, who, while going for the world featherweight title, had a record of 134 wins and only one loss; and Corny Thompson, who sparked the University of Connecticut basketball programs rise to national prominence. More notables include Allie Wrubel, a prolific songwriter and Academy Award winner for his song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah; Vivian McRae Wesley, a teacher, reading director, and leader of Middletowns African American community; and Francesco Lentini, who was born with three legs and appeared in every major circus and carnival.