Boxing great Marion Conner dies

EAST CANTON – Marion Conner, an 11-time Golden Gloves champion boxer and world-ranked professional fighter, has died.

He was 81.

Born in Canton in 1940, Conner was Stark County's first Golden Gloves champion.

He is enshrined in the Stark County Amateur Sports Hall of Fame and the Canton Negro Oldtimers Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

In the 1950s, he played football and track at McKinley High School.

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Conner, who had most recently lived in East Canton, made his pro debut in 1962. Among his opponents were Joe Frazier and fellow Cantonian and Olympic gold medalist Ronnie Harris.

A one-time Ohio heavyweight champion, Conner retired from the sport in 1976, the year he fought Harris in the "Bicentennial Battle of 1976" which Harris won. Both fighters came up through the Police Boys Club boxing program run by J. Babe Stearn, who knew Jack Dempsey.

'He loved family; he was all about family.'

Rhonda Conner said her dad was a devoted family man who loved the public.

"He loved family; he was all about family," she said. "He also loved the community."

Rhonda Conner said her father was a disciplined and structured man who shared his expertise with his children.

"He was serious about teaching his children 'form.' You had to know form," she said with a laugh. "For him, it was a science."

Rhonda Conner recalled attending some of her father's fights.

"Ronnie Harris, I remember that very clearly," she said.

Emma Conner said she and her late husband were high school sweethearts who were married for 69 years on Nov. 29.

"After he retired, he worked at the Canton Friendship Center for 18 years," she said. "He was also involved in the food ministry at Community Life Church of God. We did that for 20 years."

Conner, who was given a "Marion Conner Day" and a mayoral proclamation by the city of Canton, also worked at Diebold and Operation Positive, a city youth program. In the early 1970s, he operated his own newsstand in downtown Canton.

He also was a regular participant in the Harvest for Hunger's "Celebrity Cuisine" fundraising event.

Fought under the names 'KayO' and 'Thunderbolt'

A soft-spoken man, the solidly built Conner fought under the nicknames "KayO" and "Thunderbolt." He packed a punch, fighting 250 amateur bouts from 1948 to 1962, and 54 professional fights.

Though Conner spent much of his pro career in fights up and down the East Coast, he was also part of Canton's "golden age" of boxing at Memorial Auditorium, known today as the Canton Memorial Civic Center. He held the World Regional New England States Light Heavyweight Belt from 1963 to 1968, and the World Regional New England States Heavyweight Championship from 1965 to 1967.

With a professional record of 55-21-3, the World Boxing Association ranked Conner No. 4 among the world's top light heavyweight contenders.

Rhonda Conner said her father often talked about his experiences in the ring and the people he met along the way.

"Dad was very reminiscent," she said. "He could tell you about his fights and the people he met, from Canada to Massachusetts. He would remember the details. He talked about times when he fought Joe Frazier, and the conversations they had afterward. He talked about meeting Muhammad Ali in an elevator. Ali knew there was a possibility that he could fight my dad. They would joke around. He was real comical guy. They would joke around a lot."

On Nov. 17, 1966, Conner scored a ninth-round knockout against Greatest Crawford at the Canton Memorial Auditorium. Crawford never regained consciousness, dying the next day from a blood clot on his brain.

"He vaguely talked about Greatest Crawford," Rhonda Conner said. "That was very traumatizing for him."

'I want people to know we had greatness that lived here.'

Canton Councilwoman Chris Smith, a longtime family friend, said Conner was a role model who stayed committed to his community.

"I want people to know we had greatness that lived here," she said. "He never left Canton. I want kids to know that you don't have to live in a big city to accomplish things."

Conner is survived by his wife, Emma; daughters Rhonda Conner and Vivian Conner-Brown; brothers Chester Brown and James Conner; sisters Evelyn Kelly, Melinda Andrews and Gwendolyn Ladson; nine grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by a son, Marion Jr.; a daughter, Cheryl; a granddaughter; and a great-grandchild.

Rhoden Memorial Home is handling the arrangements.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Marion Conner was a Golden Gloves champ, middleweight contender