Was it a stylish thing with Louis struggling against Billy? If he'd have fought a hundred guys like Conn he'd always have trouble with them? Or did Joe perhaps take Conn not seriously enough, and got lucky in the 13 th?
Conn had an enormous mental energy, as Ray Arcel might have put it, and he focused it all on Joe Louis. Moonie got the plan absolutely spot on - perfect - and Conn got the execution absolutely right. What Tunney was to Dempsey, Conn was to Louis but Louis had fifteen rounds. Yes, struggling with him was inevitable.
I heard Louis was pretty drained prior to the fight to try and make the fight more marketable by coming in the weigh ins well under his proper fighting weight.
Billy Conn was on a 19-fight winning streak and was 23 years old in 1941. No one has a win over Billy Conn after 1938 except Joe Louis in 1941 and 1946 (knocked him out both times). Billy Conn was a great fighter at his absolute peak (he might have got on to do even greater things if not for WW2).
Yes. Quite a few people thought that Conn would be a very tough challenge for Louis and some even expected Conn to beat Louis. Dempsey himself thought that Conn would be a very tough match for Louis style-wise, but also predicted that Conn's overconfidence would result in him making a fatal mistake late in the fight, which is exactly what happened. Conn's ring experience, hand speed, and fearlessness would make him a tough match for anybody.
The rematch is a bit of a misnomer for this one tho. They were completely different men, miles removed from their initial match 5 years (almost to the day) earlier. The war saw to that. Louis had one completely meaningless fight in 4 years, Conn not one. Having said that i have little doubt Louis would have won an immediate rematch.
Louis was twice as good in rematches see Arturo Godoy. Watch their first fight it was Louis’ toughest defense then watch what he does in the second. That said with the Conn fight Louis himself told Conn that he had the first fight all along he was just letting Conn hang himself. It was just a matter of time.
Likely a combination of multiple factors: 1. Conn was brilliant. Likely the 2nd best HW in the world at that point. 2. I've read that Louis was pressured into coming in below 200lbs to make the fight more marketable, so he may have been a little drained. 3. Conn, as well as being brilliant, had a nightmare style for Louis. 4. When you make 25 x defences over 11 years, you won't always be at your best, for a multitude of reasons. Conn was at his best that night and Louis wasn't at his. One of the many things that marks Louis as so great, is that despite the above 4 factors all likely being against him, he still won.
Billy could run but he could not hide. (One of the most brilliant quotes in the history of sport imo.)