Fenech figures to be all wrong for Pep. I dont know if Jeff is capable of being beat if he can't be hurt.
I agree, I think Jeff wins a decision. Pep had plenty of issues with dirty fighters, tough guys and swarmers. Angott being the main example in his prime, I think Jeff also manages to crowd and edge out Pep. Jeff's speed is really underrated and I see it being a big factor here.
Agreed. Fenech and Saldivar figure to be the two worst featherweights for Pep. Pep matches up well with methodical guys like Arguello and Sanchez, whereas Fenech would get slaughtered by Arguello and Sanchez.
I understand the rationale behind thinking Fenech (and others of his style) could win, but I think if Pep was truly so vulnerable to that kind of style, he would've lost far more often in and around his prime than he actually did. For example, he likely would've lost to a brawling, smothering LW like Paddy DeMarco (who was good enough to beat Saddler twice) instead of beating him decisively like he did.
It's a valid point, and perhaps I am sleeping on Pep here. It's just hard for me to envision a fighter beating Fenech without having the power to put hurt on him. I think putting real hurt on Fenech is necessary for victory. However, if there's anybody who could have gotten by with simply outboxing/bamboozling him, Pep would be the obvious choice.
The only pressure fighter he fought in his prime who I think is as good as Fenech though, he lost to.
I think Pep was a sharper hitter and better infighter than he commonly gets credit for being. He may not have had a great KO %, but he dropped and/or stopped a number of top FWs of his day, most notably when his title was on the line. Maybe so, but surely it has to be taken into account that Angott was a full weight class larger (enough so that he'd actually vacated his LW title partly due to difficulties making weight).
I don't agree with that part - Angott was more of a natural Jr. WW by that time, and Pep would continue to comfortably make FW for years to come.
