Conn Almost Won, but . . . Spinks?

With Michael Spinks challenging Larry Holmes Saturday night, former light-heavyweight champion Billy Conn was asked to tell how he almost dethroned heavyweight champion Joe Louis in 1941.

“I came in at 169 1/2 pounds, while Joe weighed 199 1/2,” Conn told Jack Cavanaugh of Reuters. “But that had nothing to do with why I lost.

“I fought Joe the same way I fought light-heavies--that is, I outboxed him through 12 rounds. Then I staggered him with a left hook in the 12th and was convinced I could put him away in the 13th. Between rounds, my manager, Johnny Ray, told me not to get reckless, but to continue boxing him, and that if I did, I had the title.

“But I didn’t listen to my corner and went for a knockout in the 13th. It was stupid, and I wound up getting knocked out.”

Conn said he ran into Louis later and told him, “Joe, after beating you, I was going to enjoy being the heavyweight champ for about six months and then give you a rematch.

“Joe looked at me and smiled and said: ‘Billy, you couldn’t hold the title for three rounds. How were you going to hold it for six months?’ ”

Add Conn: Asked about Spinks’ chances, he said: “The guy has no chance--not because of the weight difference, but because he’s just not that good a fighter. Who has he fought? Nothing but a bunch of bums. But if he’s a good fighter, a light-heavyweight can beat a heavyweight.”

Note: According to the Ring Record Book, Conn weighed 174 pounds for the Louis fight.

Dept. of Irony: When Joe Niekro joined the Yankees this week, he and Phil became the first brothers on the same staff since Mickey and Rick Mahler at Atlanta in 1979.

On Wednesday night, Mickey Mahler was the winning pitcher as Detroit beat the New York Yankees, 5-2, to deny Phil Niekro his 300th win.

Trivia Time: Name two basketball players from Ohio State who were nicknamed Hondo. (Answer below).

The quarterbacks get the honors, but BYU Coach LaVell Edwards told Blaine Newnham of the Seattle Times: “The key to our success is not in the quarterbacks or receivers, but in the line blocking.

“Our schemes are complicated, we have options for everything. They allow us to pick up blitzes without keeping our backs in to block.”

Newnham, after watching a BYU practice last week, said: “One lineman held a stack of cards two inches thick. They told him of every blitz the University of Washington had run in the last decade.”

Add BYU: Receiver Glen Kozlowski, whose mother is Samoan and father is Lithuanian, recalls with amusement the trip to face Boston College: “I think the perception in the East is that we play two-hand touch below the waist. I think they expected us all to have three wives, all with dresses that never came above the ankle.”

The Numbers Game: New Manager Roger Craig was given No. 33, and the San Francisco Giants hope it works out as well for him as it does for the other Roger Craig who operates in Candlestick Park. He’s the running back who scored three touchdowns as the 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins, 38-16, in the Super Bowl.

Trivia Answer: Frank Howard and John Havlicek.

Quotebook

University of Minnesota football Coach Lou Holtz, on fullback Dave Puk: “He’s not going to win the Kentucky Derby, but put him up to the plow and he’ll give you a good day’s work.”