Joseph "Sandy" Saddler (June 23, 1926 – September 18, 2001) was an American

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. He was a two-time

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

world champion, having also held the

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...

title. Over his twelve-year career (1944–56), Saddler scored 104

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

s and was stopped only once himself, in his second professional fight, by Jock Leslie. Considered to be one of the hardest hitting featherweights, Saddler was ranked number five on ''The Ring'' magazine's list of "100 Greatest Punchers of All Time". His nephew is

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...

Professional career

Saddler is best known for his four-bout series with

Willie Pep Guglielmo Papaleo ( Middletown - September 19, 1922 – November 23, 2006) was an American professional boxer, better known as Willie Pep, who held the World Featherweight championship twice between the years of 1942 and 1950. Papaleo was born ...

. However, he had 93 fights prior to facing Pep.

Early career

Saddler turned Pro at

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

winning his pro-debut & losing his second fight, he fought 10 more times at Bantamweight & had a record of 85-6-2 prior to facing

, Saddler record included a loss to Phil Terranova & a Draw with

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Facing Willie Pep

The two first faced off on October 29, 1948. Pep was the reigning featherweight champion of the world, and coming into the fight boasted a record of 134-1-1 (43 KO). Saddler was the underdog & captured the title by knocking Pep down four times en route to a four-round knockout victory. This was only the second time that Pep was beaten, Sammy Angott beat him in 1943, and first time he was ever stopped in 137 bouts. Pep then recaptured the crown on February 11, 1949, by outpointing Saddler over 15 rounds. Saddler regained the crown on September 8, 1950, by a TKO in the eighth round. Pep quit after dislocating his shoulder. The pair fought their last fight on September 26, 1951. In one of the dirtiest championship fights ever fought, Saddler won when the fight was stopped in the tenth round. Saddler fought several other notable opponents during his career. He knocked out future

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

champion Joe Brown, as well as lightweight champions Lauro Salas and Paddy DeMarco. Saddler beat lightweight champion

, knocked out future junior lightweight champion Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, and lost to Larry Boardman.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

* NYSAC

champion (126 lbs) (2×) * NBA (WBA) featherweight champion (126 lbs) (2×) * NBA (WBA) super featherweight champion (130 lbs)

''The Ring'' magazine titles

* ''The Ring'' featherweight champion (126 lbs) (2×)

Undisputed titles

* Undisputed featherweight champion (2×)

After boxing

Saddler retired from boxing in 1956, aged 30, after an eye injury sustained in a traffic accident. He later became a trainer and helped train the young

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

in the 1970s, including Foreman's first Heavyweight Championship of the World reign. In 2003, he was ranked #5 on the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. In 1990, Saddler was inducted into the prestigious

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

. He is the Uncle of Joseph Saddler, better known as

. Saddler died on September 18, 2001.

References

External links

* *https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1948 *https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1949 *https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1950 *https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1951 *https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/National_Boxing_Association%27s_Quarterly_Ratings:_1955
Sandy Saddler - CBZ Profile
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Saddler, Sandy 1926 births 2001 deaths Boxers from Boston International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Featherweight boxers World boxing champions World featherweight boxing champions Super-featherweight boxers American male boxers 20th-century American sportsmen