Lee Roy Murphy

Lee Roy Murphy
Lee Roy Murphy
Born	Lee Roy Murphy; July 16, 1958 (age 66); Chicago, Illinois, USA
Nationality	American
Other names	Solid Gold
	Statistics
Weight(s)	Cruiserweight ; Heavyweight ;
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
	Boxing record
Total fights	34
Wins	30
Wins by KO	23
Losses	4
Draws	0
No contests	0

Last updated July 15, 2025

Lee Roy Murphy (born July 16, 1958) 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,^[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

Chicago Golden Gloves (165 lbs), International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, March 1976:

(no data available)

USA–USSR Duals (165 lbs), Las Vegas, Nevada, January 1977:

Lost to Gennadiy Tolmachyov (Soviet Union) by decision

National Golden Gloves (165 lbs), Honolulu, Hawaii, March 1977:

1/4: Lost to Keith Broom by decision

Chicago Golden Gloves (165 lbs), International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, March 1977:

Finals: Defeated Mark Scully by unanimous decision, 5–0

35th Intercity Golden Gloves (165 lbs), Madison Square Garden, New York City, April 1977:

Defeated Paul Christiani KO 1

AAU National Championships (178 lbs), Ohio State Fair, Columbus, Ohio, August 1977:

Finals: Lost to Mark Frazie by decision (Murphy knocked down once)

USA–Romania Duals (178 lbs), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 1978:

Lost to Constantin Dafinoiu (Romania) by decision

National Golden Gloves (178 lbs), 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 (178 lbs), International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, April 1978:

Finals: Defeated Willie Phillips

36th Intercity Golden Gloves (178 lbs), Chicago, Illinois, April 1978:

Defeated Ron Huston KO 1

Chemistry Cup (178 lbs), Halle, East Germany, June 1978:

Finals: Lost to Michael Seefeldt (East Germany) RSC 1

National Sports Festival (178 lbs), Fort Carson, Colorado, July 1978:

1/2: Lost to Elmer Martin by decision

USA–USSR Duals (178 lbs), Troy, New York, February 1979:

Lost to Nikolay Yerofeyev (Soviet Union) by decision

USA–Poland Duals (178 lbs), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 1979:

Defeated Jacek Kucharczyk (Poland) by split decision, 2–1

National Golden Gloves (178 lbs), Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1979:

1/2: Defeated Steve Adams RSC 1
Finals: Defeated Alvino Manson KO 1

37th Intercity Golden Gloves (178 lbs), Madison Square Garden, New York City, April 1979:

Defeated Porfirio Llanes RSC 1 (2:30)

Pan Am Trials (178 lbs), Toledo, Ohio, May 1979:

1/2: Lost to Andre McCoy by split decision, 2–3

USSR–USA Duals (178 lbs), Moscow, Soviet Union, January 1980:

Defeated Nikolay Yerofeyev (Soviet Union) by split decision, 2–1

National Golden Gloves (178 lbs), 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 (178 lbs), Atlanta, Georgia, June 1980:

1/4: Defeated Bluford Spencer RSC 3 (2:14)
1/2: Defeated Steve Eden by unanimous decision, 5–0
Finals: Defeated Elmer Martin KO 1 (0:56)

FRG–USA Duals, West Berlin, West Germany, July 1980:

Defeated Kurt Seiler (West Germany) by decision

Gold Cup (178 lbs), Nairobi, Kenya, September 1980:

Finals: Defeated Danny Jackson (Puerto Rico) by decision

He finished his amateur career having 162 victories to his credit.^[5]

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 they're only daughter Ariel Murphy. Now he is 64 retired from CTA, Living his best life.

Professional boxing record

34 fights	30 wins	4 losses
By knockout	23	2
By decision	7	2

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
34	Win	30–4	Kimmuel Odum	UD	6	07/08/1998	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
33	Win	29–4	Jerry Brown	TKO	4	26/06/1998	Alumni Hall, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the fourth round.
32	Loss	28–4	Mike Evans	UD	12	02/03/1991	Dolphin Centre, Darlington, England	IBF Intercontinental Heavyweight Title.
31	Win	28–3	Terry Armstrong	UD	10	12/09/1990	Gateway Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
30	Loss	27–3	Johnny du Plooy	PTS	10	09/06/1990	Sun City, South Africa
29	Win	27–2	Alfonso Ratliff	KO	4	26/06/1989	Odeum Expo Center, Villa Park, Illinois, U.S.	Illinois Heavyweight Title.
28	Loss	26–2	Dwight Muhammad Qawi	TKO	6	15/08/1987	Saint-Tropez, France
27	Win	26–1	Bobby Crabtree	UD	10	28/04/1987	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
26	Win	25–1	Steve Mormino	PTS	8	27/03/1987	Viareggio, Italy
25	Loss	24–1	Rickey Parkey	TKO	10	25/10/1986	Marsala, Italy	Lost IBF cruiserweight title
24	Win	24–0	Dorcy Gaymon	KO	9	19/04/1986	Sanremo Casino, Sanremo, Italy	Retained IBF cruiserweight title
23	Win	23–0	Chisanda Mutti	KO	12	19/10/1985	Stade Louis II, Monte Carlo, Monaco	Retained IBF cruiserweight title
22	Win	22–0	Eddie Taylor	TKO	12	20/12/1984	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Retained IBF cruiserweight title
21	Win	21–0	Marvin Camel	TKO	14	06/10/1984	MetraPark Arena, Billings, Montana, U.S.	Won IBF cruiserweight title
20	Win	20–0	Darnell Hayes	KO	2	15/03/1984	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
19	Win	19–0	Steve Zouski	UD	10	20/12/1983	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
18	Win	18–0	Ralph Cuomo	TKO	1	02/12/1983	Shirley, New York, U.S.
17	Win	17–0	Willie Crawford	TKO	1	07/11/1983	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
16	Win	16–0	Frank Payne	UD	10	18/10/1983	Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
15	Win	15–0	Keith Allen	TKO	6	05/10/1983	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 0:39 of the sixth round.
14	Win	14–0	Ivy Brown	KO	1	07/08/1983	Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	Brown knocked out at 2:13 of the first round.
13	Win	13–0	Rahim Muhammad	KO	9	22/05/1983	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
12	Win	12–0	Charles Allen	KO	4	07/02/1983	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Allen knocked out at 1:25 of the first round.
11	Win	11–0	Terry Denny	KO	3	19/07/1982	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Denny knocked out at 1:28 of the third round.
10	Win	10–0	Eddie Smith	KO	4	19/03/1982	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Smith knocked out at 2:09 of the fourth round.
9	Win	9–0	Charles Presswood	KO	1	05/02/1982	Civic Center, Danville, Illinois, U.S.	Presswood knocked out at 2:39 of the first round.
8	Win	8–0	Frank Diaper	TKO	2	22/01/1982	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 2:43 of the second round.
7	Win	7–0	Elvis Parks	PTS	6	03/10/1981	Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, U.S.	Parks down twice in the sixth round.
6	Win	6–0	John Trollinger	KO	1	27/07/1981	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Trollinger knocked out at 0:35 of the first round.
5	Win	5–0	Darnell Hayes	K0	2	05/06/1981	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Hayes knocked out at 2:01 of the second round.
4	Win	4–0	Reggie Walker	TKO	2	16/04/1981	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Referee stopped the bout at 2:25 of the second round.
3	Win	3–0	Floyd Cross	KO	3	09/03/1981	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Cross down three times in the first round and knocked out at 2:53 of the third round.
2	Win	2–0	Gary Hunter	KO	1	11/12/1980	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Hunter knocked out at 1:34 of the first round.
1	Win	1–0	Roger Moore	KO	2	13/11/1980	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Moore knocked out at 1:22 of the second round.

References

↑ Big Apple and the Windy City Glovers clash by Jack Smith, Daily News from New York, April 24, 1979, p. 56.
↑ N.Y. kayos Chi 4th time in row by Jack Smith, Daily News from New York, April 24, 1979, p. 56.
↑ Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
↑ Five Olympic boxers to fight in German meet (AP,) The Decatur Herald, June 26, 1980, p. 12.
1 2 Sports, Pacific Stars And Stripes, September 15, 1980, p. 21.

External links

Boxing record for Lee Roy Murphy from BoxRec (registration required)

Sporting positions
Amateur boxing titles
Previous: Charles Singleton	Golden Gloves light heavyweight champion 1979	Next: Steve Eden
Regional boxing titles
Preceded by Alfonso Ratliff	Illinois State Heavy title June 26, 1989 – 1990 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Ed Krasnici
World boxing titles
Preceded by Marvin Camel	IBF cruiserweight champion October 6, 1984 - October 25, 1986	Succeeded by Rickey Parkey

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Big Apple and the Windy City Glovers clash by Jack Smith, Daily News from New York, April 24, 1979, p. 56.

[2] N.Y. kayos Chi 4th time in row by Jack Smith, Daily News from New York, April 24, 1979, p. 56.

[3] Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.

[4] Five Olympic boxers to fight in German meet (AP,) The Decatur Herald, June 26, 1980, p. 12.

[PacificStars-5] 1 2 Sports, Pacific Stars And Stripes, September 15, 1980, p. 21.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]