[Rocco Del Sesto]

Billy Conn WW / MW / LHW / HW - USA
Career Record: W64(KO 15) / L12(KO 3) / D1

TITLES:
National Boxing Association World lightheavyweight title
NYSAC World light heavyweight title

Unknown information has been left blank.

Defeated: Tony Zale, Gunner Barlund, Lee Savold, Bob Pastor, Gus Lesnevich, Melio Bettina, Gus Dorazio, Fred Apostoli, Ray Actis, Teddy Yarosz, Vince Dundee, Fritzie Zivic, and Honey Boy Jones

William David "Billy" Conn started out career as a welterweight. Breaking his fight weights and opponents in BoxRec and An article found on the internet from a paper called the Berkeley Daily Gazette dated Feb 11, 1939 was an account of Conn's 2nd straight fight against then NYSAC World Middleweight Title holder Fred Apostoli and it stated after Conn beat Apostoli in the 2nd fight on Feb 10, 1939, Conn was officially moving up to the light heavyweight division with is ultimate goal, the heavyweights. The article notes Apostoli did not loose the fight as a title fight because Conn came into the fight 8 pounts over the Middleweight limit of 160.Conn will move up to light heavyweight to most likely take on the NYSAC LHW title holder Melio Bettina, which Conn did and defeated Bettina for the LHW crown after a tune up fight against Solly Krieger.

A case to rate Conn's career as following...

Welterweight 7/1934 to 1/1936 thru Johnny Yurcini fight
Record: W13(KO 3) / L6(KO 1) / D1

Middleweight 2/1936 to 2/1939 thru 2nd Fred Apostoli fight
Record: W32(KO 4) / L4(KO 0) / D0

Light Heavyweight 5/1939 thru 2/1942 thru Tony Zale fight
Record: W14(KO 6) / L1(KO 1) / D0

Heavyweight 1/1942 thru 11/1948 thru Jackie Lyons fight
Record: W5(KO 2) / L1(KO 1) / D0

So the file attached I've made WW and MW ratings. The TBCB3 LHW and HW ratings I did not change other than I changed the Valid as of dates to correspond to the above how I broke his career down. That's the interesting thing for me looking at these old fighters. I knew the history for the most part of the first Louis / Conn fight. Did not really know much or really anything at all about the 2nd fight 5 years later almost to the day. What I did not know at all was Conn starting out at WW and then really a good part of his career appears to be as a middleweight, more so than an light heavy as he's best known for. My take anyway.

The 2nd Conn / Louis fight did not shape up anything near what was expected or hoped for based on the 1st fight. Some deemed it so bad that a New York Representative at the time, a Donald L. O'Toole demanded that the New York Boxing Commission hold up the purses of Louis and Conn until an investigation be made into the fight. O'Toole apparently looked on the fight as a "fraud". I found this account of an article on the internet run by The Glasgow Herald on June 21 1946. Another account I found on the fight, by The Baltimore Afro American paper on June 22 said a disappointing small crowd of 45,266 paid to see the fight when a crowd of 70,000 was anticipated. Not sure why that. This account pretty much described Louis as just making short order of Conn in this fight.

So some different take on Billy Conn if you like, or not like.