People call him "Feather-fisted" or say that he "hit like a *****" or "couldn't break eggs". Look at the guys he was actually in with. He was in with some of the toughest guys of a super-tough era. He also turned pro with literally no am experience and the style he carved out for himself was a very conservative one. The combination means that he doesn't have a very impressive KO %. But look closer. When Conn met guys with questionable toughness, he often stopped them, getting on top of them with box-punching and variety of attack. A quick look at his heavyweight competition: Gus Dorazio (186lbs), stopped him in 8, quite literally butchered his face. Henry Cooper (190), totaly dominated, but made the distance (12) Mike O'Dowd (200) stopped in 9. Jackie Lyones (185) stopped in 9. Jay Turner (227) made the distance. Buddy Knox (180) beaten all over the ring and stopped in 8. Gunnar Barland (195) stopped in 8. Danny Hassett (200) stopped in 5. Ira Hughes (179) stopped in 4 Al McCoy (181) made the distance. Joe Louis, who beat him twice. Bob Pastor (180) stopped in 13 via body attack. Low blows WERE landed, and i've read at least one account that says that the decisive blow was low - however, most accounts have it as a legitimate punch. This is Conn's signature stoppage at HW because only one other man managed it, a certain Joe Louis. Of the heavyweight power-punchers that tried and failed to stop Pastor, you have Turkey Thompson, Tami Mauriello and Lem Franklin, in addition to some 55 other heavyweights (inlcuding many respectable hitters like Lou Nova and Al McCoy). None of the other master boxers he faced were able to overwhelm him, and that includes Jimmy Bivins and Maxie Rosenbloom. Conn and Louis. Pastor was extremely durable. So you have a former middleweight who stopped the majority of the HW's he fought, including one of the most durable of his era. They were almost always bigger men (Conn outweighed Lyons in his final fight). Having said this, most of these guys were on their way down, or journeymen - these results don't denote Conn a devastating puncher, or anything like that, but feather-fisted? No, I don't think so, and i'm not as surprised or aghast as everyone else seems to be that he "rocked Louis" - he rocked loads of good and durable men. Guys like Krieger, Bettina, Apostoli, Corbett III, Yarosz, Dundee, they just didn't tend to get knocked out around the time that Billy fought them...combine his generally monumental level of competition with his conservative style, and of course he didn't score many KO's. I'm not trying to say he was a Bob Foster, but maybe he was a James Toney. Impractical comparisons aside, he's a better puncher than he's generally given credit for.
Very interesting post, thanks for that McGrain. Of course, scanning his boxrec, he seems to have had a lot of fights that only went 4, 5 or 6, which might have tarnished his KO% somewhat. He must have held back to an extent. I don't know what Pastor's chin was like really, but his apparent durability might have been down to his defensive style more than anything?
You're welcome. As to Pastor, yes, you are quite right that Pastor's style lent him durability, but he also faced many excellent boxers, men who were expert at landing on such an opponent, who failed to punch him down in the way Conn (or Louis) did. Pastor matched a very wide variety of styles and Conn was the only one of his type who hit him out.
Billy Conn fought Henry Cooper? It can't possibly have been that Henry Cooper, can it? Edit: Never mind, I just checked boxrec.
Bob Foster never faced a light heavy like Conn. Billy's speed and defensive skills make it a long night for Foster. Triple left hooks and right crosses that frequently find their mark give Conn a unanimous decision.
Conn would go 15 imo. Billy was a tough mutha****er, crafty as well. Whilst he was ballsy, I think that'd be the end of him if he tried it here. We've all seen Conn bamboozle Joe Louis, but Louis, a textbook master, didn't have anything, stylistically, to give Conn a headache. Foster was not a textbook operator. I think Conn would struggle to mount his own offence against Foster's jab and awkward movement. He'd confuse Conn to the point where he stuggles to figure out closing the gap and by the end has resorted to avoiding the blunt power of Foster. Conn's speed is enough to keep him from getting polaxed, but not win imo. Foster UD15 Conn.
Louis was more measured in his attack, more patient. When he 1st fought Conn it almost cost him the fight. Foster wouldn't fight Conn that way, and would attack Conn the way Louis should've. Foster would be on destroy mode the minute the 1st bell rings. Foster would stop Conn whithin 10 rds, not because he was a better fighter, but because he was much more aggressive. One can only hide for so long from a fighter like Foster.
