The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-06-18
(Reg. U. s. Pat. Offo
 By HARRY FERGUSON limited Press Sports Editor)

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 New York, June i8--(Up)-Nine years ago a man walked into Pittsburgh gymnasium and said to Johnny Ray, who owned the tumble down place:
 "The big boys in our block are picking on the kid, and I'll give you c buck e week If you'll teach him how to fight"
 At that moment Billy Conn be- came 6 fighter. Tn all of his B years he never has been anything else. If he can get money for fighting, so much the better. If he can't he'll fight because he loves 1t.
 The man who spoke to Johnny Ray was Billy Conn's father. The kid, of course, was Billy. Johnny Ray took one look at him and saw @ frail, pale youngster with pipe- stem arms and 6 face that was ale most girlish. Standing there in the corner of the shabby gymnasium, Billy looked anything in the world but 6 professional fighter. Until he put his hands up and shadow boxed.
 "Right then I knew I had some. thing" Johnny Ray said, land 80 I took the kid for a buck 6 week"
 Tonight Billy Conn and Johnny Ray cash their biggest dividend cn the investment they made nine years ago. They stand on Q peak after a journey up @ long, slow road Hard knocks and hunger have been their companions most of the way.
 But win, lose or draw against Joe Louis, this evening, their troubles are over. They will walk out of the Polo Grounds with $6o,000 and f they win they are on the road to half 6 million. It's more money than either of them knew existed in the days when they were on the tank town circuit, fighting for as little as $2.50 a bout and never dreaming that one day the heavyweight cham pionShip of the world would come within range of Conns flashing left hook.
 Spirit Is Important
 There are factors in e prize fight besides footwork, hooks, jabs and straight rights. There Is on intan- gible thing called fighting spirit and Con his crammed with 1t. I think he IS too light and too much of a powder puff puncher to handle Louis, but I'm looking for him to put up & whale of 6 scrap while 1t lasts.
 He Is a natural fighter in the sense that Harry Grebb and Demp. sey were natural fighters. They loved to fight and they found out to their astonished surprise that people would pay more to see them do 1t. The other type of boxer Is the syn. thetic fighter. Tunney was one of those. He cared nothing about the prize fight racket, but he saw in 1t Q chance to work hard and get rich He did both of those things and retired.
 Camera was Q synthetic fighter, too, but of different type. He was an afniable giant who was taken in hand by men who knew the angles and how to cash in on them. He never cared about fighting and never pretended that he did.
 Fighting spirit is deep in the Conn family. Billy has 6 little siS- ter who recently lost some teeth in Q fight. And they say that Billy's fatherd gets involved in an extra. curricular fight almost every time Billy goes into the ring. It usually happens in e club or around 6 radio wheare an argument starts and the elder Conn goes to war in behalf of the family. The story is that Billy phoned after one of his fights and his father inquired:
 How'd you come out, son7"
 q won my fight" Billy replied, "how did you do in yours7"