Evening star., 1939-12-27
Conn, Ring's Glamour
Boy, Puts New Life
Into Pastime
Ambers Also Adds Tonic
By Beating Armstrong
For Lightweight Title
BY DILLON GRAHAM.

NEW YORK. Dec. 27.-For the
fight faithful the years big moment
came that June night when the
boisterous bartender, Tony Galento,
dumped Heavyweight Champion Joe
Louis on the seat of his pants out
in Yankee Stadium.
Louis was down only second or
two. but 1t was long enough to afford
boxing it's top thrill Spines tingled
at the sight of the invincible Brown
Bomber bowled over. Globular Ga
lento. often beaten by third-raters,
regarded by many as a loud, wise
cracking, muscular clown, actually
had knocked the champion down.
That Galento could punch. The
crowd, sensing that perhaps it was
in on one of the greatest upsets
in pugilistic history, was on its feet
cheering wildly. But Louis got up
quickly and battered the gallant
Galento so terrifically that the fight
was stopped in the fourth round
Nova Is Eliminated.
The year also saw Louis stop three
other challengers, new champions
crowned in several divisions, the
arrival of a fistic glamour boy in
handsome Billy Conn. a terrific
Henry Armstrong-Lou Ambers light
weight battle, the appearance Of
a fine heavyweight prospect in Pat
Comiskey, the temporary elimina-
ton of another, Lou Nova, and the
end Of the comeback trail for game
little Tony Canzoneri.
But that Galento punch topped
everything. Tony stunned Joe with
left in the first round. downed
him in the third-then forgot to
duck. Once Galento offered Joe a
target, Louis finished him in a
hurry.
Joe polished off John Henry Lewis
in 2:29 of the first round, took
seconds less with Jack Roper and
then finally caught up with clever
Bob Pastor in the 11th frame.
Conn Pops Up Game.
Conn. the Pittsburgh battler with
the face of a choir boy, the fighting
fury of an Irishman and the fastest
left hand in the business, brought
new life into the light-heavyweight
division. Billy outpointed Melio
Bettina for the title a few months
after Bettina had won it in beating
Tiger Jack Fox.
Then Conn won handily in two
defenses, against Bettina and Gus
Lesnevich. Billy stopped heavy
weight Gus Dorazio and there was
talk of his facing Joe Louis nest
summer. Most experts figured,
though, that Conn couldn't punch
hard enough to worry Louis.
Lou Ambers regained the light
weight title from Henry Armstrong
in one of the toughest battles in re-
cent New York history. LOUIS vic
tory was clouded by the five rounds,
an almost unprecedented number,
that Referee Arthur Donovan pen
allied Armstrong for low punching
Titles Change Hands.
Fred Apostoli, twice beaten by
Conn, lost the New York version of
the middleweight championship
when he was knocked out in the
seventh round by Ceferino Garcia.
AL Hostak regained the National
Boxing Associations world middle
weight title by kayoing Solly Krieger
in the fourth.
Lou Nova halted former cham
piOn Max Baer's comeback bid with
an eleventh-round technical knock
out, but a few months later was
stopped by Galento in IA heats.
Joey Archibald, the featherweight
champion, lost non-title fight to
Simon Chavez. Armstrong, the once
triple champion who was down to
one title, fought often, including a
welterweight title victory over Ernie
Roderick in London.
Canzoneri, hoping to climb back
for a crack at Armstrong, was
knocked out in the third round by
AL Davis, bright Brooklyn prospect.