So I watched Louis vs Conn 1 last night....

Conn was definitely up but not dominant. There was a pretty cool moment mid fight where Louis hurts Conn and I think Billy slipped near the ropes and Joe could have ended the evening then and there.n
He stepped back and allowed the ref to reset after Billy got up. That was Joe Louis. In a tough fight he was probably behind he just pull the trigger because he had too much honor.

For the fight itself it was more exciting throughout. It's underrated in that sense.

 

At times Conn looks so tense. Can hardly blame him of course!

 

The story that's always been repeated over and over, is that Conn got "too Irish" and cocky, attempted to go for the KO, and got knocked out himself. The truth is, he had to move, move, move all night long, and exhaustion just got to him. He didn't have a choice in the end but to start standing still and trading with the bigger stronger Louis. Still, Conn, for not being much of a puncher, wobbled the hell out of Joe.

 

Ive never seen anyone claim that fight was a white wash. Louis could have still won on the cards. People give Conn credit for his gutsy effort and being ahead at the time of the stoppage never heard anyone try to say it was a whitewash.

 

Many on this forum continue to say Conn was dominating and list this bout as an example of Louis's weaknesses.

 

It would not have been impossible for Louis to get a win or a draw on the cards, but he would have needed good showings in the remaining rounds.

 

It was June, 1941. Polo Grounds. New York City. If Conn had miraculously survived the 13th round somehow, the scorecards would have looked like this:

Referee: Eddie Joseph 7-6 Conn
Judge: Marty Monroe 7-5 Conn
Judge: Bill Healy 6-7 Louis

Conn would have needed at least one of the remaining 2 rounds, to secure a win. At that stage in the fight, with the way things seemed to be going, I find that doubtful. I think it would have been a minor miracle for Conn to have survived the next 2 rounds, let alone win 1 of them. I suspect Louis would have won a Majority Decision, if the fight had continued on, and we might even be debating if Conn had the best chin in the history of boxing, because, IMHO, he would have had to survive some devastating shots from Louis (who had found the range at that point, for whatever reason).

I consider that fight to be a classic, and "1 of those things" that happen to all time great fighters (who ARE, after all, still human beings) occasionally (a scare from a surprising source). It's another case of "great winners find a way to win," even when having an off night.

 

excellent post!

 

The whole narrative about Conn schooling Louis is nothing but a try to make Louis look worse than he actually was. The truth is that fight was fairly close and very exciting. Conn fought brilliant fight, but he just couldn't beat Louis and it had nothing to do with cockiness.

 

Some perceptive comments on here re-dressing the balance of the urban myth that Conn was, for want of a better term, thrashing Louis.

I think what's also sometimes forgotten is the possibility of Louis being weightdrained; as some on here would know, Louis claimed in his autobiography that he was determined to come in at under 200 as he did not want the MC saying "Louis, 202, Conn 174"; this may have affected Louis' performance somewhat. Reading the rest of Louis' autobiography there is a "warts & all" feeling of honesty throughout that to me indicates that Louis was telling the truth regarding the weight issue.

Of course, perpetuation of the myth that Conn was "thrashing" Louis is often used as "exhibit A" by some fans when assessing the outcome of Louis versus heavyweights with good movement...

 

Joe was definitely landing enough, and well enough to take a big toll on Conn too. Conn showed a ridiculous chin.

 

Many on this forum make it sound like it's a wonder Louis ever won a fight.

 

Speed