Billy Conn’s Brilliant Game Plan on Joe Louis, and Where He Went Wrong
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
The world heavyweight title bout between Joe Louis and Billy Conn, their first meeting at the Polo Grounds in New York City on June 18, 1941, remains one of the top ten greatest title fights of all-time and is still a mystery of the circumstances surrounding how it ended.
Louis, the world heavyweight champion, weighed either 199 ½ or 204 pounds. Conn, the world light heavyweight champion, weighed either 169 or 188 pounds. Whichever of the conflicting reports is true, the two combatants would be better categorized as super cruiserweights or junior heavyweights by today’s standards, rather than full heavyweights.
Conn shocked the boxing establishment, the world, and himself, by leading the bout on points after 12 rounds. By today’s 12 round world championship shorter round format, Conn would have won the world heavyweight championship. However, in 1941, the 15 round format still in place (the last heavyweight 15 rounder was in 1986) meant Conn needed to win one more of the last three rounds to win the world heavyweight title outright.
Conn, ahead on the scorecards 7-5, 7-4 and 6-6. The 7-4 indicator after 12 rounds is another mystery, and perhaps that particular judge had one round even, meaning Louis could do no better than 7-7 on that scorecard if he won the last three rounds. One more round won would have given Conn 8 rounds on the remaining two scorecards, as rounds were being scored on the rounds system that day (for one fighter, the other, or even).
The concept of the light heavyweight champion moving up to heavyweight, (or cruiserweight and then heavyweight in the modern era) is difficult due to the great difference in size. It is hard for a light heavyweight to bulk up in weight. Conn did not try to do that, he just tried to outbox Louis on raw boxing skill.
World Light Heavy weight champion Tommy Loughran attempted this against Primo Carnera in March 1934, and managed to go 15 rounds despite being outweighed by the world heavyweight champion, Carnera, 270 pounds to 186 pounds. Loughran gave the appearance of a stick and move jabbing fly. Obviously a test of pure power, Carnera would have blown Loughran off the map. Carnera was a huge power, like Nicolai Valuev who came to the title later. Loughran had correctly presumed Carnera would not use up all his energy to chase the fly. Loughran won only one round on two scorecards, and three rounds on the third.
Conn got on his bicycle and jabbed and counter jabbed with the cautious Louis. Taking Louis on a trip to hell. If Louis hit he would get hit, and he would get hit by combinations by the rapidly moving Conn without being able to hit him. At times he could hit him but also got solidly countered. It was a wild chess match. Like Max Schmeling before him, Conn was a superbly skilled boxer. However, Conn was not a heavyweight.
The crowning moment was when Conn staggered Louis in the twelfth round. Unlike Louis versus Schmeling I, Conn did not finish Louis in the twelfth round. Knowing he had Louis in trouble, or perhaps believing so, Conn came out in the thirteenth round going for a knockout. This approach was the wrong one. Joe Louis’ trainer Jack Blackburn had already told Louis to go for a knockout as he needed a knockout to win.
Conn had only to go on his bicycle and win one of the last three rounds while avoid Louis.
Instead, Conn opted to stand in front of Louis and slug it out with him to take him out, a reverse approach versus the previous 12 rounds. It didn’t work, with Louis landing two right hands to the jaw which finished Conn, who got counted out on the canvas at 2:58 of round 13.
A planned June 1942 rematch did not take place when Conn broke his left hand the month before. The United States Department of the Army did not allow the rescheduling of the rematch for October 1942 as it conflicted with war interests. Both Louis and Conn had enlisted in the U.S. Army. Conn also lost the 1946 rematch with Louis by knockout, and finished his career with a pair of postwar ninth round knockout wins in November 1948.
Conn could have fought on for a chance at Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles or Rocky Marciano for the world heavyweight title, or fought on for a chance at Joey Maxim or Archie Moore for the world light heavyweight title, but like Jack Dempsey at age 32 before him, Conn retired from the ring for good before his 32nd birthday. Conn met with Louis at least once years later at the training camp of Emile Griffith. Conn was noticeable and silently present at the funeral of Joe Louis at Arlington National Cemetery in April 1981, and passed away himself at age 75 in April 1993 a decade later, never getting over his strange sudden giveaway senseless loss in a fight of the century he had won on points with natural talent. Conn versus Louis I remains a lesson on game plan strategy, in terms of what to do and what not to do. Conn had intelligence and skill, but too much contempt.
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