Is it just me, or when Louis knocked him out, as he was walking to a neutral corner he seemed to have a grin on his face? I found that strange since Louis was not one to do things like that. It was like he was waiting to do that for 5 years or something, and when it finally happened he showed a little arrogance there. It's not on youtube, so I can't post it, but for those who have this fight or have seen it before, what do you think?
Honestly, I'd have to watch the tape again. Not like Louis to display any sort of emotion in the ring though, is it? He was always very stoic. If you're right, we could have a lot of fun debating what that was all about.
Conn said: "Your in for a long night Joe" Imidiately before Louis knocked him out. That might explain it.
Yes, I've noticed it, and I've also read about it. It's a tiny smile, for sure, but I think it's there. A couple of biographies mention that Louis was being ragged by writers before the Conn rematch -- he looked old, didn't appear to be training all that well, and was asked about it several times in the pre-fight buildup. Enough so that Louis said, "He (Conn) is training for the newspapermen; I'm training for a knockout." Louis apparently felt some tension about the fight. Conn had almost beaten him in 1941; it was generally felt that Conn lost because he made a boneheaded switch in tactics, not because Louis had solved his style; and Louis hadn't been in a real fight in four years. By this time, Louis knew he was facing financial trouble, and knew he needed to keep the title to keep making big money. So the bottom line was that Louis had reason to feel some pressure. He was probably more relieved to kayo Conn than he'd ever been. Louis biographers have speculated that the little smile we saw at the end was an expression of that relief. And in the post-fight interviews, he did bring up some of the pre-fight tension, saying something like, "Everybody was wondering if I'd still be my old self. Seems as if I was, don't it?"
These guys were good friends. The crazy irishman probably said something that cracked Louis up before he knocked him out. It was probably an inside joke between the two of them.
Didn't Conn say that to louis during the first fight(1941)? ( Sorry, about the repeat, quoted the wrong massage first time.)
