Irish Bob Murphy (July 22, 1922 – August 17, 1961) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who fought from 1945 to 1954. He was born Edwin Lee Conarty in

Flagler, Colorado The Town of Flagler is a Statutory Town in western Kit Carson County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 567 at the 2020 United States Census. Flagler is near Exit 395 on I-70 and about 120 miles east of Denver and Colorado Sprin ...

, but fought out of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2003, Murphy, who was a southpaw, made the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

Early life

Edward Lee Conarty (https://web.archive.org/web/20100514180318/http://www.usslexingtoncv16.org/members/roster1940s.htm) was born in Flagler, Colorado, on July 22, 1922, to Della Mae (Curtis) and John Patrick Conarty. He joined the Navy at the age of 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 18, 1941, and was assigned aboard the U.S.S. Lexington (https://web.archive.org/web/20100514180318/http://www.usslexingtoncv16.org/members/roster1940s.htm). After the U.S.S. Lexington went down in the Battle of Coral Sea on May 8, 1942, Conarty was among the many Lexington survivors that were assigned to the U.S.S. Alabama (BB-60) to put it into commission. Conarty was known for his boxing skill and was a member of both the Lexington and Alabama boxing teams. Nicknamed "Jack" Conarty during his service aboard the "Mighty A," he was known as an exciting boxer who "packed a blockbuster in his left (southpaw) and would take anything his opponent could hand out just long enough to unload one of his bombs." It is said that he never lost a single boxing match in his entire service aboard BB-60.

Pro career

Under the new professional name Irish Bob Murphy, he unsuccessfully challenged

Joey Maxim Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli (March 28, 1922 – June 2, 2001) was an American professional boxer. He was a World Light Heavyweight Champion. He took the ring-name Joey Maxim from the Maxim gun, the world's first self-acting machine gun, based ...

for the light heavyweight championship on August 22, 1951. Although Murphy entered the ring as the favorite, Maxim clearly outboxed him and won a unanimous 15-round decision. Murphy's biggest win came on June 27, 1951 against former

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

champion Jake LaMotta, who had moved up to the light heavyweight division after losing his crown to

Sugar Ray Robinson Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regard ...

. LaMotta appeared poorly prepared for the bout, weighing a career-high 175½ lbs. The match stopped when LaMotta could not answer the bell for the eighth round. Murphy and LaMotta fought a rematch on June 11, 1952, and LaMotta won the decision. Murphy retired in 1954 with a 65-11-1 record and 57 knockout wins.

Death

Murphy was killed in a road accident in Boston, when he crashed his motorcycle and broke his neck on August 1, 1961.

References

*"Murphy Choice to Beat Maxim for Title Tonight", New York Times, August 22, 1951 Crewmen Bios., USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, Curation Department Mobile, AL. 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Bob 1922 births 1961 deaths People from Kit Carson County, Colorado Boxers from Colorado Light-heavyweight boxers American people of Irish descent Southpaw boxers Motorcycle road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Massachusetts American male boxers United States Navy personnel of World War II