Billy Conn vs Bob Pastor

World light-heavyweight champion Billy Conn established himself as a serious challenger for heavyweight honours by knocking out Bob Pastor in the thirteenth round of their scheduled 15-round contest at Madison Square Garden on September 6, 1940. Conn, weighing 174 pounds, conceded seven pounds to Pastor, who entered at 181. Referee Billy Cavanaugh completed the count at 2 minutes 54 seconds of the thirteenth after Pastor went down from a left hook to the body.

The match was intended to test whether Conn’s speed and boxing skill would remain effective against an experienced heavyweight. He had won the light-heavyweight championship from Melio Bettina in 1939 and defended it against Bettina and twice against Gus Lesnevich. Before facing Pastor, Conn stated that victory would persuade him to leave the 175-pound division and seek a contest with heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Pastor supplied a suitable examination. He had twice challenged Louis, extending him over ten rounds in 1937 and lasting until the eleventh in their 1939 championship return.

Pastor made the better impression during portions of the early fighting. He used his heavier frame sensibly, landed several firm punches and prevented Conn from immediately dictating the contest with his feet. Conn did not possess the crushing power normally associated with a leading heavyweight, but he was quicker in movement and delivery. Once he found his distance, he began striking Pastor with the jab and following with fast combinations. Pastor continued to answer and was never reduced to simple defence, yet he increasingly had difficulty matching Conn’s speed through complete rounds.

The bout developed into a hard and lively contest rather than a prolonged exhibition of outside boxing. Conn moved in and out rapidly, but he was also willing to stay near Pastor and exchange blows. His punches arrived in clusters, with the left hand repeatedly opening the way for rights to the head. Pastor’s greater weight allowed him to compete at close quarters, and he had success whenever Conn remained within reach. Conn nevertheless began to land almost at will during his stronger passages and gradually assumed command.

There was considerable argument over Conn’s body punching. Referee Cavanaugh took the eighth round away from him because of low blows and awarded it to Pastor. The same penalty was imposed in the twelfth, and the referee later stated that another low punch in the thirteenth would also have cost Conn that round had the contest continued. Pastor’s manager, Jimmy Johnston, maintained afterwards that the illegal blows had drained his boxer and claimed that the finishing punch itself was below the permitted line. Cavanaugh allowed the result to stand, and the official verdict remained a knockout from a left hook to the body.

Before that finish, Conn had twice demonstrated that his comparatively modest record of knockouts did not mean he was incapable of hurting a heavyweight. Near the end of the ninth, he drove Pastor to the canvas, where the New Yorker took a count of seven as the bell sounded. Pastor recovered sufficiently to continue competing and carried the fight into the later rounds, but the accumulated punishment was beginning to tell. In the twelfth, Conn dropped him again, this time for nine. Although the round was awarded to Pastor because of the low-blow ruling, the knockdown showed that Conn held the physical advantage as well as the lead in clean punching.

Conn pursued the finish in the thirteenth, increasing his attack as Pastor attempted to withstand the pressure. With only six seconds remaining in the round, Conn drove the left into Pastor’s body and sent him down for the third time. Pastor could not rise before Cavanaugh reached ten. The Associated Press had Conn ahead in eight of the 12 completed rounds, a margin consistent with the general course of the contest despite the two rounds lost through fouling.

The victory advanced Conn’s record to 53 wins, nine losses and one draw and gave weight to his intention of campaigning among the heavyweights. He followed the Pastor success by defeating Al McCoy and Lee Savold before earning his eventual championship opportunity against Louis in June 1941. Pastor had been an established contender and a difficult man to stop, making Conn’s performance more significant than an ordinary non-title victory. The light-heavyweight champion had conceded weight, survived Pastor’s early resistance, scored three knockdowns and completed the assignment inside the distance, although the controversy surrounding his body blows remained part of the result.

Like all light heavyweight pro fighters of that time, Billy Conn was looking for heavyweight money. The weight difference made it possible back then to have heavyweight champions at 180+ lbs., so in some cases there really wasn’t much difference between the two divisions. Pastor was a top-rated contender who had twice faced Joe Louis and knew how to survive against bigger punchers. Conn conceded seven pounds yet eventually handled him with speed, accuracy and surprising physical authority.

Pastor started well and landed his share, but Conn gradually took control. His feet created the openings, then those fast combinations prevented Pastor from setting himself. Conn was never known as a destructive puncher, which made the three knockdowns significant. He was hurting a seasoned heavyweight, not merely nicking rounds from him.

There is no point ignoring the fouling. Conn lost the eighth and twelfth rounds for low blows, and Pastor’s manager claimed the final body punch was also illegal. The referee allowed the knockout, so the result stands, but it was not a spotless performance. Conn operated close to the line and crossed it more than once.

Even with that qualification, this was an impressive victory. Pastor was counted out with six seconds remaining in the thirteenth, and Conn had already established his superiority. The win led directly towards Louis. People remember Conn for nearly beating the champion, but he built his heavyweight credentials here, against a tough, experienced man he broke down and stopped.