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A true “throwback” fighter is a person that will take on all comers and former I.B.F. lightweight champion “Fearless” Freddie Pendleton defined that term during his 20-year pro career. The Philadelphia native was a man to be feared in the early 1990’s with his combination of power, boxing ability and tenaciousness. In his prime, Pendleton, 47-26-5, 35 KO’s, was a legitimate top-20 pound-4-pound fighter and one of the hardest punchers in the sport. Freddie came in as the “B” side for most of his bouts early in his career and was robbed with regularity by judges. Freddie never took the cruelty of the sport personal and just continued to believe in himself. Freddie fought a who’s who of the lightweight and welterweight division including the likes of Felix Trinidad, Pernell Whitaker, Ricky Hatton, Rafael Ruelas, Roger Mayweather and Frankie Randall. If you ever want to learn sound boxing fundamentals you can find many of Freddie’s fights on YouTube. Freddie is a no nonsense guy that tells it like it is and his views of the sport today are intriguing if not pessimistic. I caught up with the former champ who works in a South Florida boxing gym as a coach.

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Question: Who was the hardest puncher you ever fought?

Answer: Jimmy Paul (33-6, 24 KO’s). Kronk Gym guy. He could killed you with one punch. I ended up hurting him worse than he hurt me though when I split his mouthpiece in half with a jab. 

Q: What differences do you see in boxers now than from your era?

A: Combination punching, bodypunching and uppercuts.  What happened to throwing more than just a three punch combination? What happened to 5-6 punch combination? I can’t believe how few fighters use their uppercut. Fighters are throwing punches like amateurs even the professionals. I never seen world champions that don’t even know the basics of boxing like they do now. Everybody throws a 1-2. Or a 1-2-3. Or one bomb. When I see a fighter like Canelo Alvarez I see a top amateur. He still needs tons of work. Tons.

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Q: What fighters impress you today?

A: None

Q: What about Floyd Mayweather Jr.

A: Floyd is only better than other fighters because he knows how to put punches together. He is one of the few guys that still throw 5-6 punch combinations. 

Catch Part 2 of ESPN2 News interview with “Fearless” Freddie Pendleton next Sunday!

 

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