BOXING:Willie Pep, whose ring artistry was such that he once famously claimed to have won a round without throwing a punch, has died at the age of 84.

Pep died at the West Hill nursing home in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, where he had been treated for Alzheimer's disease since 2001.

Pep won 230 of his 242 professional contests and held the world featherweight title over two periods between 1942 and 1950, engaging in four epic fights with his great rival Sandy Saddler.

He illustrated his elusive style, which earned him the nickname "Will o' the Wisp", in the third round of a 1942 fight with Jackie Graves, which he won by feinting and keeping his opponent off-balance.

Pep, born Gugliermo Papaleo in Middleton, Connecticut, on September 19th, 1922, turned professional in 1940, and won over 50 fights in two years before beating Chalky Wright to claim the world title.

Despite suffering serious injuries in a plane crash in 1947, Pep continued to reign at the featherweight limit until he defended his title against Saddler at Madison Square Garden in 1948.

Pep was cut in the first round, floored twice in the third, and finished off in the fourth by the hard-punching Saddler. It was the beginning of one of the greatest rivalries in the sport.

Four months later Pep won his title back with probably his greatest performance, avoiding Saddler's increasingly crude swings to earn a unanimous verdict in front of almost 20,000 fans in New York.

In September 1950 the pair engaged in a ferocious third meeting which Saddler won when Pep, citing a shoulder injury, failed to answer the bell for round eight. "He made me forget I was clever," Pep rued.

Their fourth meeting one year later, which Saddler again won due to a serious eye injury sustained by Pep, was so foul-filled the pair briefly suffered the indignity of having their licences revoked.

Pep would fight on for a further 15 years including a comeback in 1965 at the age of 42, but never again got the chance to win back the world title he had held with such aplomb.

Pep later stayed in boxing as a referee and inspector. Friends who visited the former champion at his home in Hartford said he remained "sharp as a tack" until the onset of Alzheimer's.