Billy Conn
Billy Conn ![]() |
|
---|---|
Data | |
Birth Name | William David Conn |
Weight class | Heavyweight |
nationality | US-american |
birthday | October 8, 1917 |
place of birth | Pittsburgh |
Date of death | May 29, 1993 |
Place of death | Pittsburgh |
style | Left delivery |
size | 1.87 m |
Combat Statistics | |
Struggles | 76 |
Victories | 64 |
Knockout victories | 15th |
Defeats | 11 |
draw | 1 |
Billy Conn (born October 8, 1917 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania as William David Conn , † May 29, 1993 ibid) was an American boxer .
Career
Irish-born Conn, a counter-boxer from Pittsburgh, turned pro in 1934 but lost seven of his first fifteen fights. He started in the lightweight and rose in the world class and middleweight by victories over Fritzie Zivic , Vince Dundee and Teddy Yarosz in the world class. He defeated the middleweight Fred Apostoli twice in 1939.
In July 1939 he won the light heavyweight division by winning points over Melio Bettina for the vacant world title and then defended it in the rematch against Bettina and in two fights against Gus Lesnevich. In 1940 he defeated Bob Pastor and Lee Savold. Then he switched to the heavyweight division.
On June 18, 1941, it finally came to a clash with the heavyweight world champion Joe Louis , Conn's most famous fight. At the beginning of the thirteenth round he was ahead on points, but then became too cocky and lost the fight by knockout .
He defeated middleweight Tony Zale in 1942 and was inactive for four years. In 1946 he returned to the ring for a rematch against Louis, but offered a poor performance and was knocked out in the eighth round. In 1948 he played two more fights and then finally ended his career.
In 1990 Conn was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame .
Web links
- Billy Conn in the BoxRec database
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Conn, Billy |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Conn, William David (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American boxer |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 8, 1917 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania |
DATE OF DEATH | May 29, 1993 |
Place of death | Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania |