Evening star., 1943-07-11
Louis Ready 10 Fight
Conn on Army Tour;
Tunes Golf Here

Sergt. Joe Louis, world heavy
weight boxing champion, is going
back to boxing-in exhibitions at
Army posts around the world.
What's more, he may fight Corpl.
Billy Conn, also in the Army, in
one or more of these exhibitions.
Louis and several other boxers are
going on tour, 1t was announced yes
terday at the War Department after
Louis conferred with Truman Glib
son, jr., special assistant to the
Secretary of War.
Details of the tour are yet to be
worked out and Louis will know
nothing definite until after his cur
rent furlough is up and he returns
to Fort Riley, Kans., his cavalry
post, on August g. Among the other
fighters now in the Army who may
make the tour are Sergt. George
Nichols, heavyweight, and welter-
weights Ray Robinson and Jackie
Wilson.
Louis particularly would like to
have Nichols with him. He's a
former sparring partner of Louis
and helped get him in shape for the
fight in which he won the world
heavyweight championship from
Jimmy Braddock.
Wants to Entertain Army.
Although nothing definite has
been announced, Louis said in an
interview last night that he be-
lieves several white boxers also may
go on tour and that Conn might be
included. Asked whether he would
like to box Conn in an exhibition
at an Army post, Louis said: "If
that's the best way to entertain the
soldiers I think / should fight him"
Conn was Louis leading chal-
lenger before the war. and several
attempts to have the two meet for
the title previously have been sty-
mied by the War Department.
Joe doesn't know where or when
they'll send him abroad. If given a
choice, though, he believes he would
like to go to North Africa first, then
Europe.
Louis previously had applied for
transfer from the cavalry to a
military police unit, but that now
is out, and he expects to be shifted
to special service unit for pur-
poses Of the tour. He still doesn t
know whether the tour will be mostly
boxing exhibitions or personal ap-
pearances and lessons in physical
conditioning.
The Army has done a lot for
Louis. He's much easier to inter-
view now and has definite answers
to questions. In the old days before
he was on his own he was far from
voluble, surrounded as he was by
managers and others who did his
talking for him His Army training
however, and his station, where he's
just another soldier, have done
much to put him at his ease and
make him more fluent.
Thinks His Golf Is Better.
He had several other matters or
his mind. One was golf. He played
II holes at Langston yesterday be.
fore rain stopped the foursome anc
plans another trip out there today
He also will compete in the Tam
O'Shanter tournament at Chicago
beginning July 10. He doesn't ex.
pect to do a whole lot, but he does
admit his golf really has improved
and he's playing the best he's done
in the six years he's been at the
game
Yesterday his drives were going
$50 yards, according to a member
of the foursome, although Louis
himself cut this figure down to say
29o yards The short game, too. is
okay, but his putting didn't get a
test at Langston, where Louis said
the green's were in poor shape be-
cause of the dry weather.
Joe also mentioned the movie
This Is the Army" in which he
has part 1t should be a good
movie, he said, but not particularly
because of his part in it. LAS an
actor, I'm still lot of ham," he
admitted, laughingly.
Accompanying Louis on his trip
here was Joe Ford. director at a
USO club at Battle Creek, Mich
Louis was high in praise of Ford S
work among soldiers at Fort Riley
near which he previously was sta
toned and where he did lot to
raise the morale there. Ford has
been helping Louis for about 10
months, the champion said, and
went with him on a personal ap-
pearance tour around the 7th Corps
Area.