Well ole Fitz was a damn hard puncher..perhaps more so than is recognized these days, he also had skill..the man kept boxing for years such was his commitment to the sport. Jeffries rated him number one, and Corbett for all his speed and skill was beaten. Ruby Rob should beat Conn, if the the Fitz he faced was the Fitz from 1901.
His skill carries but we saw Conn outbox Louis for 12 rounds whereas fitz had similar success but for fewer rounds against a less skilled opponent in Jeffries.
The difference in skills from these two times would be too much, if Conn was thrown into Fits's error he would loose but Conn at his era just has superior boxing skills.
And yes Fits did hit very hard and his power isn't really appreciated as much these days but do you really think that he hit harder than Joe Louis? If Conn stayed away he would have won. He did not have the boxing skills of Louis either or the superior reach.
good point. sometimes things get lost in how amazingly he performed against an all time great. that night, conn was amongst the best fighters ever. but he could be beat (and was on that night, as well as others) i just personally don't think fitz would do the trick, both at their best
Why is it that on that night Conn was one of the greatest fighters ever (even though he was knocked out cleanly and the fight was.close enough that he could still lose it) but Ray Robinson's loss to Maxim showed he couldn't win a third title. Granted Louis is better than Maxim but Robinson was whipping Maxim by just as wide a margin as Moore would in the very next fight. So Conn a clean knockout to.Louis with zero extenuating circumstances is proof that he could hang with heavyweights, but Rays loss is proof he could never move past middleweight?
One of the great punchers vs one of the finest boxers...Fitz could hit like hell...but if he fought the Billy Conn from the Joe Louis fight from June 1941...I dunno...I think that Conn takes a UD...
And as well what if Conn tries to go for the knockout instead of keep boxing cause i believe he would outbox Fits clearly and then what would Conn keep doing that or would he go for the KO, a fight like this just depends on a lot of factors we can't predict cause one thing that happens in this fight could change it for possible 12/15 rounds however long it went for....
Conn is not a top 10 all time great. In his prime no one thought of him as a all time great fighter. Excellent lt hwt but not at the level of a Moore, foster, obrien, Dillion, many others. It's only today where fighters of the past have been forgotten that Conn is raised to a high level.
Not at all. Conn has one of the best precocious records of any fighter in history. If the war had not hut his career short, he might well have been up with Charles or Moore. Joe Louis for one, was prety clear that Conn was the best he ever fought.
You won't find a single trainer or former fighter who saw both men fight that would put Conn in Obriens league....none. Obrien rated the greatest lt heavy for decades....Conn never rated by anyone as the best.