The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-06-20
Conn's Shome Causes Him
 Quit Ring

Conn losing his head" was settled conclusively last night when Joe Louis almost tore it off with an explosive left hook in the eighth round.
 Until Challenger Billy was knocked out at 2:19 of the eighth, he had kept his head" with such futility that the 45,266 who paid $1, ,925, ,564 at Yankee Stadium felt that they had been defrauded by advertisements for world heavy weight championship fight.
 Conn was so ashamed of his sec ond failure to wreSt the crown from the aging but able Detroit Negro that he immediately announced his retirement from the ring.
 Fight Better in 1941
 He had lasted longer against jolt ing Joe in 1941, when belted out in the 18th round; and he had put up such whale of fight in their pre-wa1 tilt that 8 large section of the worlds boxing fans believed he might have beaten Louis had he not lost his head and tried to slug 1t out in the 18th round He was leading Joe on the official score cards at the end of the 18th.
 But last nights farce verged on a mo contest" as the two ex-sol- diers returned to the ring after more than four years absence from competition. Louis, at g, fought like champion once he got going. Conn, at 28, appeared soft touch" from the opening gong, although many experts and two boxing con- mission physicians had pronounced him in better physical condition than the champion.
 The pursuit by 207-pound Louis of 182-pound Billy ended in the eighth round. Brown skinned Joe, 1/2 to favorite, cut loose. Early in the round, he shook Pittsburgh Billy with a left hook, followed by a smashing right to the face that knocked the challenger back on his heels and opened a gash beneath Billy'S left eye. Conn tried to fight back, and after brief sparring stepped in with left hook. Louis brown-lightning right beat Conn to the punch, landing with such crush ing force near the left temple that the challenger was stunned and fell into a clinch. They had light ex- change in mid-rtng. Then Louis nailed him with straight right to the jaw, followed by right upper cut that strengthened him up in perfect position for the terrific left hook that almost lifted him of his feet and sent him sprawling onto his back on the canvas, with blood flowing from his eye gash his nose and his mouth.
 Joseph Tolls Again l Conn, like a man paralyzed, tried to raise his head and shoulders at the count of six, but fell back and Referee Eddie Joseph-the same official who had counted him out in 1941-tolled off the terminating "10." Joseph bent down and assisted the blasted challenger to his feet, and escorted him to his corner, while more than 600 newspaper men and sports casters and tele- vision technicianS notified the world that the myth of Conn's lost head had been exploded.
 Louis, making his 22d defense of the title he won from Jim Brad dock in 1887, laid off the pace in the early going, apparently con- sciouS that movie cameras were recording the historic battle for posterity. Accordingly, Conn's danc- ing footwork and ventures with left Hicks to the face and soft left hooks to the body managed to earn him the first and third rounds and to fight on even terms in the second, according to United Press scoring. After that 1t was all Louis.
 Because the champion started slowly, the first three rounds were duller than a mortician's wake And thousands of fans in the ball park that Babe Ruth built,' were yell ing for action About 11,0O0 of them had paid $100 seat. After the opening gong sounded, nearly a full minute passed before a single punch was thrown.
 Conn Got Two Rounds
 None of the three ring officials gave Conn more than two rounds. Joseph, who had Billy leading in their 1941 bout, seven rounds to five, gave the challenger only the sAond and third last night The two judges, Jack O'Sullivan and Frank Forbes cast duplicate bal lots, each giving Conn the third and calling the first even.
 Conn landed three good punches during the entire bor5, hard left hook to the head and steaming : left hook to tkse body, both in the third rolXd. He nailcd Joe on the chin with jolting left hook early in the seventh.
 Louis stepped up tle eace in Che fourth round, landing several hard , hooks to body a~d head. However, 7 late in the fourth, he refrained , from mailing the challenger when Billy slipped in a wet spot on the | fcanVas. Joes best puIch in that round was a right to the kiGley when he had Billy against the . ropes.
 The champ rocked his lighter op- ponent with several head hooks in the fifth and hurt him with two right smashes to the kidney. . Kidneys Punished In the sixth session, Joe dropped him to one knee for no count with a short grazing left hook to the chin. Many ringsiders thought Conn had slipped; but to this writer il looked as if Billy went down from the blow for a definite knockdown ! Conn landed hard left hook te the head in the seventh; but took 2 two hard rights to the kidney or \ the ropes. Billy tried to evade these two punishing blows by revolving his gloves in paddle-wheel fashion toward the champ, who had hin trapped.
 The body blows that Conn ab. sorbed from the fourth roune through the seventh weakened hin F 1aft k,iVOn onV1, TNo tiualx1 no cy