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Lee Roy Murphy
American boxer (born 1958) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lee Roy Murphy (born July 16, 1958) is a retired American professional boxer. He held the IBF cruiserweight title from 1984 to 1986.
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Amateur career
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Murphy represented Chicago at three consecutive Intercity Golden Gloves dispatching his rivals with first-round knockouts in 1977 and 1978,[1][2] and winning the 1979 Light Heavyweight National Golden Gloves and earning a spot on the 1980 United States Olympic team. However, as the USA boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow due to political reasons, Murphy and the rest of his team were not granted Olympic berths. Murphy did, however, receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created specifically for the boycotted athletes.[3] Instead the U.S. team dispatched to West Germany for a match-up with the West German national team,[4] and then to Kenya, to compete in the inaugural Gold Cup international boxing tournament funded partially by the U.S. State Department, for the benefit of countries which boycotted the Summer Olympics.[5] He is now 64 years old, living with his wife Barbara and his daughter Ariel Murphy with his grandchildren Matthew Townsend, Brooklyn Lewis, and Eloni Lewis.
Leeroy Murphy was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, California in May 2022.
Highlights
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USA–USSR Duals (165 lbs), Las Vegas, Nevada, January 1977:
National Golden Gloves (165 lbs), Honolulu, Hawaii, March 1977:
AAU National Championships (178 lbs), Ohio State Fair, Columbus, Ohio, August 1977:
USA–Romania Duals (178 lbs), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 1978:
National Golden Gloves (178 lbs), Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 1978:
National Sports Festival (178 lbs), Fort Carson, Colorado, July 1978:
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USA–USSR Duals (178 lbs), Troy, New York, February 1979:
USA–Poland Duals (178 lbs), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 1979:
Pan Am Trials (178 lbs), Toledo, Ohio, May 1979:
USSR–USA Duals (178 lbs), Moscow, Soviet Union, January 1980:
National Golden Gloves (178 lbs), Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana, March 1980:
Olympic Trials (178 lbs), Atlanta, Georgia, June 1980:
FRG–USA Duals, West Berlin, West Germany, July 1980:
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He finished his amateur career having 162 victories to his credit.[5]
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Professional career
Known as "Solid Gold", Murphy turned pro in 1980 and won the IBF Cruiserweight Title with a 14th-round TKO of Marvin Camel in 1984. He defended the title three times before losing the belt to Ricky Parkey in 1986. After the loss, Murphy's career drifted into obscurity with losses to Dwight Muhammad Qawi in 1987 and Mike Evans in 1991. He retired after the loss to Evans, but launched a brief comeback in 1998, winning both of his bouts.
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Personal
Lee Roy's brother, Kenny Murphy, was also a prizefighter and fought Fabrice Tiozzo for the WBA Cruiserweight Title in 1999. He won four Intercity Golden Gloves' championships in 1977 at 165 lb. and in 1978 through 1980 at 178 lb. He married Barbara Murphy and they had their only daughter, Ariel Murphy. Now, in his older age, he is retired from CTA.
Professional boxing record
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See also
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External links
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