In 1941, Conn was attempting to become the first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title. Weighing just 169 pounds against the great Joe Louis, Conn was putting on a beautiful display. He was ahead on two three scorecards and tied on the third. He needed to win just one of the final three rounds to be champion.
The rematch was delayed after Conn broke his hand in a family fight and then both Louis and Conn had to serve in the Army in World War II. The didn't meet again until 1946. This time, Louis was ready for him, saying before the fight, "He can run, but he can't hide."
In the first nationally televised title fight ever, Louis knocked Conn out in the eighth round. Conn fought two more times before retiring.
The Louis fights secured his place in pop culture. Billy Conn is mentioned in the classic movie, "On The Waterfront," as well as "The Fortune Cookie" and "The Black Dahlia." A London-based band The Bible Code Sundays released a tribute song "The Pittsburgh Kid" about Conn in 2011.
Conn secured his place in boxing history by going 11-4 against Hall of Fame fighters. He beat Fritzie Zivic, Tony Zale and Young Corbett III once each. He was 2-1 against Teddy Yarosz and 2-0 against Fred Apostoli, Melio Bettina and Gus Lesnevich.
What is even more ironic is his decision after the 12th round of the first Louis fight to go for the knockout. In his 64 wins, he had just 15 knockouts. He just had to stay away for three more rounds and he'd have found himself a lot higher on this list.
| Billy Conn | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Significant Fights | |||||||
| Opponent | Result | Fight Points |
Title Points |
HOF Points |
Total | x Win % | Final Total |
| Fritzie Zivic | SD-W | 75 | 100 | 175 | 75.00% | 131.3 | |
| Teddy Yarosz | SD-W | 75 | 100 | 175 | 95.70% | 167.5 | |
| Young Corbett III | UD-L | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Teddy Yarosz | SD-W | 75 | 100 | 175 | 94.68% | 165.7 | |
| Young Corbett III | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 190 | 91.87% | 174.6 | |
| Teddy Yarosz | UD-L | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Fred Apostoli | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 190 | 91.89% | 174.6 | |
| Fred Apostoli | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 190 | 89.47% | 170.0 | |
| Melio Bettina | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 50 | 240 | 88.24% | 211.8 |
| Melio Bettina | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 50 | 240 | 86.79% | 208.3 |
| Gus Lesnevich | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 50 | 240 | 91.84% | 220.4 |
| Gus Lesnevich | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 50 | 240 | 90.20% | 216.5 |
| Joe Louis | KO-L | -25 | -25 | -25 | |||
| Tony Zale | UD-W | 90 | 100 | 190 | 77.27% | 146.8 | |
| Joe Louis | KO-L | -25 | -25 | -25 | |||
| Totals (11-4-0, 3 SD, 2 KOd) | 1,937.3 | ||||||
| Record in non-significant fights | |||||||
| 53-7-1, 15 KOs, 5 SD, 1 SDL, 1 KOd | 4,820 | ||||||
| % of fights toward 50 (57%) | 2,766.7 | 2,766.7 | 69.98% | 1,936.1 | |||
| Totals | 3,873.4 | ||||||
| Peak 5 Fights | |||||||
| Gus Lesnevich | 220.4 | ||||||
| Gus Lesnevich | 216.5 | ||||||
| Melio Bettina | 211.8 | ||||||
| Melio Bettina | 208.3 | ||||||
| Fred Apostoli | 174.6 | ||||||
| Peak 5 Totals | 1,031.5 | ||||||
| Final Totals (significant, non-significant, Peak 5) | 4,905.0 | ||||||
| Boxing's 100 Countdown | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Fighter | Significant Fights |
Non-Significant Fights |
Peak 5 | Final Total |
| 78. | Billy Conn | 1,937.3 | 1,936.1 | 1,031.5 | 4,905.0 |
| 79. | Benny Leonard | 1,729.8 | 2,089.5 | 1,040.1 | 4,859.4 |
| 80. | Sugar Shane Mosley | 2,479.9 | 1,512.3 | 858.7 | 4,850.9 |
| 81. | Lou Ambers | 1,589.2 | 2,098.7 | 1,158.2 | 4,846.1 |
| 82. | Harry Wills | 2,564.4 | 1,355.7 | 923.7 | 4,843.8 |
| 83. | Mickey Walker | 1,987.8 | 1,775.7 | 1,075.4 | 4,838.8 |
| 84. | Joe Gans | 2,314.9 | 1,639.8 | 883.0 | 4,837.6 |
| 85. | Sven Ottke | 2,824.5 | 1,317.7 | 687.5 | 4,829.7 |
| 86. | Ronald "Winky" Wright | 2,243.3 | 1,658.3 | 922.5 | 4,824.1 |
| 87. | Fighting Harada | 1,259.6 | 2,409.2 | 1,105.9 | 4,774.7 |
| 88. | Humberto Gonzalez | 1,866.7 | 1,952.3 | 907.3 | 4,726.4 |
| 89. | Ricardo Lopez | 2,830.5 | 1,188.1 | 702.7 | 4,721.3 |
| 90. | Carmen Basilio | 1,723.3 | 1,804.7 | 1,184.1 | 4,712.2 |
| 91. | Orlando Canizales | 2,529.3 | 1,510.3 | 669.3 | 4,708.9 |
| 92. | Jeff Fenech | 2,103.9 | 1,728.7 | 844.8 | 4,677.4 |
| 93. | Michael Carbajal | 2,333.7 | 1,519.2 | 817.0 | 4,669.9 |
| 94. | Marcel Thil | 2,579.8 | 1,170.9 | 900.9 | 4,651.6 |
| 95. | Nicolino Locche | 1,858.0 | 1,946.8 | 820.3 | 4,625.1 |
| 96. | Ricky Hatton | 3,458.8 | 449.1 | 708.9 | 4,616.8 |
| 97. | Ismael Laguna | 1,059.5 | 2,659.4 | 889.9 | 4,608.7 |
| 98. | Ramon "Chocalatito" Gonzalez | 2,187.1 | 1,771.9 | 638.6 | 4,597.5 |
| 99. | Wilfredo Benitez | 1,439.4 | 2,223.0 | 914.4 | 4,586.8 |
| 100. | Carlos Zarate | 1,124.2 | 2,707.1 | 751.5 | 4,582.8 |
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