Guglielmo Papaleo was an American professional boxer better known as Willie Pep. Pep boxed a total of 1956 rounds in the 241 bouts during his 26-year career a considerable number of rounds and fights even for a fighter of his era. His incredible professional career which spanned form 1940 to 1966 concluded with his record sitting at an astonishing 229-11-1. Of his victories 65 came by way of knockout. Pep had a combination of speed and finesse and is considered on of the best featherweights of all time. In 1990 Pep was inducted into the International Boxing hall of Fame.

This lot includes a pair of his training-worn Everlast black boxing gloves and black Everlast headgear that he used during 1940s. The leather gloves are heavily worn with holes and tears on each side. They are much smaller than fight gloves almost mitten-sized without a lace-up system and feature a metalic bar on the palm side where Pep would wrap his fingers around for hitting the bag. The headgear is in much better shape with all elements including the lace-up rear and original leather chinstrap perfectly intact. Sweat staining and a couple black spots are present on the tan-colored interior.Includes a Letter of Provenance from the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection.