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Billy Conn abandoned his game plan and Joe Louis made him pay for it

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Image: 85 years ago today: Billy Conn abandoned his game plan and Joe Louis made him pay

Conn steadily gained ground on the scorecards in front of a crowd of 54,487. Louis looked unusually sluggish as Conn repeatedly punched him and controlled the pace. The challenger would witness the biggest moment of the fight in the 12th round when he knocked out Louis with a pair of left hooks, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

At the time of the stoppage, Conn was leading on the two official scorecards, 7-5 and 7-4-1, while the third judge ruled the fight even at 6-6. The Associated Press scored it 8-4 for Conn.

Then came round 13.

Instead of continuing to fight for a decision, Conn looked for a knockout. Louis, who was told by coach Jack Blackburn that he needed a break to win, jumped at the opportunity. The heavyweight champion caught Conn with a counterattack and knocked him out at 2:58 of the round.

Later in the locker room, Conn blamed no one but himself.

“I lost my head and a million dollars,” he famously said. When asked why he abandoned the strategy that had given him an advantage, Conn offered another memorable phrase: “What’s the exploit of being Irish if you can’t be fat?”

The regret stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Years later, Conn admitted he won that fight before he started chasing the knockout. “I was a sharp guy. I had him and I let him get away,” Conn recalled. “If I hadn’t hurt him in the twelfth race and tried to knock him out in the thirteenth, I would have beaten him.”

Towards the end of his life, Conn suggested that he was unsure whether the judges would award him a decision against a champion as popular as Louis. Still, the player’s reflections focused less on the scorecards and more on his decision to abandon his winning game plan.

Eighty-five years later, the enduring image remains the same: Billy Conn losing to the great Joe Louis, only to let victory slip away by trying to finish the job too soon.

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David Haye Warns Agit Kabayel Could Pose Serious Challenge to Daniel Dubois

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"David Haye Warns Agit Kabayel Could Pose Serious Challenge to Daniel Dubois"

David Haye believes Agit Kabayel’s movement and body punching could punish Daniel Dubois for loading up on his shots. The approach that overwhelmed Fabio Wardley could leave Dubois working much harder against the unbeaten German.

Dubois’s second-round stoppage of Wardley showed how destructive he can be against an opponent whose attacks he can anticipate. Kabayel would offer a different test, making him change direction and create fresh openings rather than repeatedly finding the same target.

Haye praised Dubois’s physical qualities but argued that he could benefit from using smaller punches to set up his power shots.

“He’s an absolute machine. Everything is the perfect size heavyweight. He takes a dig. He’s a massive puncher,” Haye said to talkSPORT Boxing.

“I’d like to see him loosen up a little bit. Everything feels very forceful.”

Haye used Lennox Lewis as an example of a heavyweight who could open opponents up before committing to his biggest punches. Against Kabayel, he believes Dubois would need more than force.

“Against Kabayel, that style of just trying to force it won’t work,” Haye said. “He’s slippery, he turns angles, throws to the body.”

Wardley gave Dubois opportunities to land short, powerful counters. Kabayel’s movement could require Dubois to keep adjusting his feet while protecting his body. Loading up and missing would cost energy, particularly if Kabayel made him turn before he could punch again.

That makes the matchup a test of how Dubois creates opportunities when an opponent refuses to remain in front of him. His power could still change the fight, but reaching for a knockout would give Kabayel more chances to work.

Haye called Kabayel “the sleeper,” highlighting his willingness to face dangerous opponents without the promotional attention enjoyed by bigger names.

“He’s the one everyone’s avoided. He’s the one who’s had all these tough fights against unbeaten fighters when nobody else wanted it,” Haye said.

Haye still didn’t pick Kabayel to win. His argument was that Dubois would face a much tougher technical test. The power would remain a threat, but Kabayel could make him work a lot harder to deliver it.

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Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

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Joe Cordina Cleared of Assault Charges After Punching Incident: Former Boxing Champions Legal Victory

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"Joe Cordina Cleared of Assault Charges After Punching Incident: Former Boxing Champion's Legal Victory"

Former boxing world champion Joe Cordina has been cleared of assaulting a man he punched outside a petrol station.

The incident outside a garage in Pentwyn, Cardiff, in February led to the 34-year-old being denied entry to the US for a WBO lightweight title clash.

District Judge Charlotte Murphy found Cordina not guilty of assault by beating against Jamie O’Brien, 33, following a trial at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court.

She said she was “satisfied” Cordina believed it was necessary to use force to defend himself.

“I am further satisfied that a single, measured, controlled punch was proportionate in the circumstances,” she said.

“It is very easy to consider the defendant’s response by considering the CCTV in slow motion, however the defendant had a split second to consider his response to the shoulder barge.”

Cordina had been filling up his Land Rover before he approached O’Brien, who had been sitting on the pavement near the petrol station exit.

CCTV footage showed O’Brien pushing Cordina using his shoulder, before the two-time IBF super-featherweight champion punched him with sufficient force to knock him to the ground.

The pair continued to “remonstrate” with one another and exchange blows.

O’Brien, from Pentwyn, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of assault by beating.

Police began to investigate the incident after footage of the altercation was circulated online.

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Lennox Lewis Comments on Anthony Joshuas Decision to Reunite with Ben Davison for Tyson Fury Fight

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"Lennox Lewis Comments on Anthony Joshua's Decision to Reunite with Ben Davison for Tyson Fury Fight"

Anthony Joshua is preparing for his long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury and will have Ben Davison by his side after reuniting to his former trainer.

When asked on his thoughts, Lennox Lewis gave an honest verdict on AJ’s decision to team up with Davison once again.

Davison trained Fury for five professional bouts after ‘The Gypsy King’ made his comeback in 2018, including in an iconic draw with Deontay Wilder which many felt Fury had done enough to win.

Since then, Davison was surprisingly appointed as Joshua’s trainer for what turned out to be another five-fight run, with a damning IBF title defeat to Daniel Dubois in 2024 encouraging ‘AJ’ to make the switch to Team Usyk, where Iegor Golub acted as his cornerman.

Now, after being re-appointed as Joshua’s trainer, Davison is hoping to shake off his unwanted record of zero wins in five career heavyweight world title bouts as a trainer, with three of those losses coming this year when being in the corner for Fabio Wardley and Moses Itauma.

Speaking with Playbook BoxingLennox Lewis said Davison ‘is a good choice’ for Joshua, as he attempts to overcome Fury and capture the vacant WBA (Super) heavyweight title to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.

“I think that it is a good choice because Ben Davison has trained Tyson Fury for a little bit. He also knows Anthony Joshua and he also is a good man in the corner for Anthony Joshua because of how he speaks, he gives you confidence and that is what Anthony Joshua needs.

“He needs a guy in there telling him some good stuff to make him react.”

Fury-Joshua will take place on Friday, December 11, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with details regarding the undercard expected imminently.

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