Billy Conn or Jake Lamotta who was Greater?
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Billy Conn or Jake Lamotta who was Greater?
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It's a crying shame that several decades after his career, Conn is still, "the guy who nearly beat Joe Louis."
I prefer to see Conn as one of the most brilliant (& possibly, the most under-rated of the legitimate LHW legends) 175lbers ever to lace 'em up. He never gets his due for the simply sensational Light-Heavy he was --- a shoo-in for the top-10 in his division's history (& it's a pretty steep division for all-timers).
I absolutely class him above LaMotta.Last edited by Wild Blue Yonda; 11-23-2010, 06:15 PM.
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Originally posted by Wild Blue Yonda View PostIt's a crying shame that several decades after his career, Conn is still, "the guy who nearly beat Joe Louis."
I prefer to see Conn as one of the most brilliant (& possibly, the most under-rated of the legitimate LHW legends) 175lbers ever to lace 'em up. He never gets his due for the simply sensational Light-Heavy he was --- a shoo-in for the top-10 in his division's history.
I absolutely class him above LaMotta.
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Originally posted by Joey Giardello View PostWhat are your thoughts on conn's time as a heavyweight?
Well, he knocked out Bob Pastor --- a function of precision-punching in the absence of power (always a mark of a great fighter) & decisioned Lee Savold, not bad going. The mark against him at HW was that he had few fights there, but he never really looked like he lacked anything (sans a true HW punch) to compete with the bigger boys. For the time he did spend as a HW, he was never embarrassed (save for the rematch with Louis, when both were past their primes), but never was Conn accused prior to that of being out of his depth.
When you're from a lower weightclass, & you're moving up to tackle Heavies without a devastating punch, you'd better be pretty sound in the rest of your departments, & Conn was just that. His footspeed (including footwork & positioning, specifically), handspeed, combinations (another under-sold element of Conn was his ability to put punches together) meant he translated into a force at any weight, which says a lot for him as both a LHW & HW.
I do feel there are some really in-grained myths & exaggerations surrounding the first fight with Louis, & it's high-time those were dispelled for good.
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