Willowy Willie

William Papaleo, known to fight fans as Willie Pep, looks like an unhappy jockey who has grown too big for his trade. But the battered, sad, pinched look on 27-year-old Willie's face is more the result of 150 prizefights than concern for his lack of weight or size. For willowy Willie from Hartford, Conn, is the featherweight champion of the world, and his ability to stay under 126 Ibs. is his meal ticket. His consummate skill in the ring is a throwback to the days when champions in his class were boxers, not sluggers. For eight years now, except for a four-month interlude when Harlem's Sandy Saddler held the crown, Willie's upright, fencing style combined with a ballet dancer's footwork has kept him on top.

He won the title from aging Chalky Wright in 1942, lost it to hard-hitting Saddler in 1948, then regained it from the 23-year-old Negro in an exhibition of boxing v. slugging unmatched in recent ring history (TIME, Feb. 21, 1949). Pep had won 146 fights and lost only three when he met France's Ray Famechon, European champion, at Madison Square Garden last week. Willie stepped on Famechon's toes, nudged him off balance, jabbed his pon iard left into the Frenchman's face again & again, backpedaled from Famechon's bull-like rushes and won his tenth title defense.

The decision was unanimous and overwhelming for Willie, but the crowd was not pleased. Nor was Famechon, who complained bitterly between sobs that Pep did not fight like a champion. Fast-stepping Willie Pep, who knows the true value of his artistry, was unimpressed. Said he: "You think I ran tonight? If I fight Saddler again you'll really see some running." Willie has been accused of avoiding a rematch with Saddler, but after the fight with Famechon he repeated his announcement that he'd fight the challenger any time. His condition: a record-breaking (for featherweights) $100,000 guarantee.

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