7. Billy Conn

The fighter with movie star looks is best remembered for his 1941 loss to world heavyweight champ Joe Louis. Conn romped the first 12 rounds, but inexplicably  decided to trade punches with Louis in the 13th – and got stopped. He later explained: “It was the Irish in me.”

There were no such disasters at light-heavy where Conn’s skills saw him to victory against the very best. He took the title against Melio Bettina in 1939 and defended against the former champ, plus Gus Lesnevich.

His career was derailed by the war and Conn was never the same fighter after picking up the pieces of his career.

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