The Boxer and the Blonde

“There was bedlam. It was wonderful. This was the best it had ever been and ever would be, the 12th and 13th rounds of Joe Louis and Billy Conn on a warm night in New York just before the world went to hell. The people were standing and cheering for Conn, but it was really for the sport and for the moment and for themselves that they cheered. They could be a part of it, and every now and then, that is it, and it can’t ever get any better. This was such a time in the history of games.”

From “The Boxer and the Blonde” by Frank Deford for Sports Illustrated from June 16, 1985

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