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.

Manny Pacquiao has had 73 professional fights to date, but there is one man who is grateful that his planned clash with the Filipino icon did not materialize, calling his withdrawal a “blessing in disguise.”

Many fighters, true legends of this sport, dream of sharing the ring with one of the greatest boxing fighters; the only boxer to win a world title in four different decades and the only world champion in eight divisions.

Pacquiao is now chasing another feat, hoping to break his own mark as the oldest welterweight champion of all time, having last held the WBA welterweight title at the age of 42 years earlier. he lost to Yordenis Ugaswho stepped in as a challenger when Errol Spence Jr. withdrew.

I keep talking Ward’s Art PodcastSpence admitted he was glad the fight with “Pac-Man” didn’t happen, fearing that the eye injury that caused him to withdraw could seriously impact both his career and life.

“The whole camp I felt bad, I felt really bad, I was screwed up. I’ll say it again, I don’t know if it’s life or God or whatever. I got hit in the eye while sparring and I was actually still sparring at the time and stuff like that.

“I went to Vegas and had to take an eye test, it was shadowy, I saw clouds, something was wrong, I went to the eye doctor and I think he saw it, but he wanted me to tell him, so he said, ‘Can you see any clouds?’ And I said, ‘No, I can’t see anything.’

“He said, ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, “No, I can’t see anything, everything is clear, everything is fine.” I wanted to get permission, but he said, “Man, your eye is messed up.”

“I tried to tell the doctor to let me fight and that everything would be fine, that I would sign whatever you wanted me to sign. I told him I would make sure he [Pacquiao] don’t hit me in the eye!

“He said, ‘No, man, if you get hit in the eye the right way, you can go blind in the eye. I can’t let you fight.’

“I think it was a blessing in disguise because if I had taken that fight and something had happened, I would be wearing an eye patch right now and I wouldn’t have had the fights that I had or made the money that I made.”

Spence returns to action against Tim Tszyu next month, ending a three-year period of inactivity with intriguing tests in the super welterweight division.

In response to Whittaker’s comments, Chelli said his victory over Morrell was more than just a lucky blow.

“He didn’t do it [fought anyone]. I just saw his recent interview where he said my fight was a lucky shot,” Chelli told Sky Sports Boxing. “You don’t get a lucky shot against a two-time world heavyweight champion, who took a beating in the fight against David Benavidez.

“You don’t get a lucky shot in boxing, especially at this level. Maybe against a smaller guy. At this level, against a guy who is prepared to take a lucky shot and is trained for it. I wouldn’t say I envy him, but I think he regrets not taking that fight. I don’t think he would have done the job if he had taken that fight.”

Despite criticism of Whittaker’s record, Chelli says he would welcome a fight with him.

“I don’t see him as a real competitor, but he’s a large name. Why do we box? Are we boxing for money, fame or belts? He’s the one I want in the WBC right now. So if I know his name, of course, I’ll gladly take it,” Chelli said.

Chelli also revealed that the two were once members of Team GB and claimed he dumped Whittaker during a sparring session.

“We were good friends at one point. We were in Team GB, we shared the same rooms and were close. I think we were fighting for the English title in the final and I think something screwed up there. We had a sparring session. I dropped him in the sparring session,” Chelli said. “You can ask the witnesses there that I dropped him in sparring but he was still selected for the Commonwealth Games.”

Whittaker (11-0-1, 8 KO) holds the WBC International lightweight heavyweight title and last fought in April, defeating Liam Cameron in the second round of their rematch in Birmingham. Chelli’s upset win over Morrell was the biggest victory of his career and put him in position for more essential fights in the 175-pound division.

“I don’t see him as competition.”

Zak Chelli speaks out about Ben Whittaker 👀 pic.twitter.com/JBILvEC3Rt

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) June 17, 2026