Connie lived in our small town, but he was not born there. He grew up in Colorado and started fighting there. He used to challenge at carnivals, but became a pro boxer.
I remember going to Connie's 100th birthday, can't remember the date though. Maybe it was around 2009. He died the next year.
For the event his family had gathered all his boxing memorbilia and displayed it at the hall. I already knew it was extensive, because a few years before I had looked at a lot of it when I went to record an interview with him.
Connie, a middleweight, was one of Dempsey's sparring partners for the Carpentier match. He learned his stuff at the Gibbons gym in Minnesota, so was plenty evasive. He claimed part of the middleweight title when about ten guys were claiming the same thing, was my understanding. At least that is what he said when he was niney-eight.
What bothers me is that Connies family has all the records and clippings from fights, because Connie's wife save everything, but no one has bothered to substantiate it and put it in the records where it belongs.
The last time I looked for it on Boxrec, there was exactly one fight listed for Connie Wills. Rather comically, the only fight listed was with a gentleman of the first name of Shirley, which was an acceptable men's name at one time.
Connie trained the amateurs from our area for years and years. He had a successful construction business, though boxing was always where his heart lay.
One more street fight story, this one involving Connie. You will have to take my granfather's word for it, since I was not there. I don't know if I was even born yet.
Connie was a nice man, but a cantakerous one who stood up against skullduggery right away. Grandpa said a beef with a carny became loud. Others carnys rushed in to intervene. Someone took a swing at Connie, there was a moment of confusion. Then granddad sayssudenly the air was full of carnys, which is exactly how he put it. That is all I know about it.
We shouldn't think the guys we badmouth couldn't wipe out a whole room of us.
I just went and checked Boxrec again. There are now two fights listed. And his opponents name was Judy, not Shirley.
I remember going to Connie's 100th birthday, can't remember the date though. Maybe it was around 2009. He died the next year.
For the event his family had gathered all his boxing memorbilia and displayed it at the hall. I already knew it was extensive, because a few years before I had looked at a lot of it when I went to record an interview with him.
Connie, a middleweight, was one of Dempsey's sparring partners for the Carpentier match. He learned his stuff at the Gibbons gym in Minnesota, so was plenty evasive. He claimed part of the middleweight title when about ten guys were claiming the same thing, was my understanding. At least that is what he said when he was niney-eight.
What bothers me is that Connies family has all the records and clippings from fights, because Connie's wife save everything, but no one has bothered to substantiate it and put it in the records where it belongs.
The last time I looked for it on Boxrec, there was exactly one fight listed for Connie Wills. Rather comically, the only fight listed was with a gentleman of the first name of Shirley, which was an acceptable men's name at one time.
Connie trained the amateurs from our area for years and years. He had a successful construction business, though boxing was always where his heart lay.
One more street fight story, this one involving Connie. You will have to take my granfather's word for it, since I was not there. I don't know if I was even born yet.
Connie was a nice man, but a cantakerous one who stood up against skullduggery right away. Grandpa said a beef with a carny became loud. Others carnys rushed in to intervene. Someone took a swing at Connie, there was a moment of confusion. Then granddad sayssudenly the air was full of carnys, which is exactly how he put it. That is all I know about it.
We shouldn't think the guys we badmouth couldn't wipe out a whole room of us.
I just went and checked Boxrec again. There are now two fights listed. And his opponents name was Judy, not Shirley.
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