Lee Roy Murphy


Lee Roy Murphy is a retired American professional boxer. He held the IBF cruiserweight title from 1984 to 1986.

Amateur career

Murphy represented Chicago at three consecutive Intercity Golden Gloves dispatching his rivals with first-round knockouts in 1977 and 1978, 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. Instead the U.S. team dispatched to West Germany for a match-up with the West German national team, 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. 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

, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, March 1976:
USA–USSR Duals, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 1977:
  • Lost to Gennadiy Tolmachyov by decision
National Golden Gloves, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 1977:
  • 1/4: Lost to Keith Broom by decision
Chicago Golden Gloves, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, March 1977:
35th Intercity Golden Gloves, Madison Square Garden, New York City, April 1977:
  • Defeated Paul Christiani KO 1
AAU National Championships, Ohio State Fair, Columbus, Ohio, August 1977:
  • Finals: Lost to Mark Frazie by decision
USA–Romania Duals, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 1978:
National Golden Gloves, Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 1978:
  • 1/16: Defeated Dennis Stanley KO 2
  • 1/8: Defeated Sonny Westbrook RSC 1
  • 1/4: Defeated Ron Brown by decision
  • 1/2: Lost to Charles Singleton by decision
Chicago Golden Gloves, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, April 1978:
  • Finals: Defeated Willie Phillips
36th Intercity Golden Gloves, Chicago, Illinois, April 1978:
  • Defeated Ron Huston KO 1
Chemistry Cup, Halle, East Germany, June 1978:
  • Finals: Lost to Michael Seefeldt RSC 1
National Sports Festival, Fort Carson, Colorado, July 1978:
  • 1/2: Lost to Elmer Martin by decision
USA–USSR Duals, Troy, New York, February 1979:
  • Lost to Nikolay Yerofeyev by decision
USA–Poland Duals, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 1979:
  • Defeated Jacek Kucharczyk by split decision, 2–1
National Golden Gloves, Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1979:
  • 1/2: Defeated Steve Adams RSC 1
  • Finals: Defeated Alvino Manson KO 1
37th Intercity Golden Gloves, Madison Square Garden, New York City, April 1979:
  • Defeated Porfirio Llanes RSC 1
Pan Am Trials, Toledo, Ohio, May 1979:
  • 1/2: Lost to Andre McCoy by split decision, 2–3
USSR–USA Duals, Moscow, Soviet Union, January 1980:
  • Defeated Nikolay Yerofeyev by split decision, 2–1
National Golden Gloves, Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana, March 1980:
  • 1/8: Defeated Thomas Landry by split decision, 3–2
  • 1/4: Defeated Jay Strickland by decision
  • 1/2: Lost to Bernard Benton by decision
Olympic Trials, Atlanta, Georgia, June 1980:
  • 1/4: Defeated Bluford Spencer RSC 3
  • 1/2: Defeated Steve Eden by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • Finals: Defeated Elmer Martin KO 1
FRG–USA Duals, West Berlin, West Germany, July 1980:
  • Defeated Kurt Seiler by decision
Gold Cup, Nairobi, Kenya, September 1980:
  • Finals: Defeated Danny Jackson by decision
He finished his amateur career having 162 victories to his credit.

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.

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

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
34Win30–4