Joseph Ignatius Murray (born 6 May 1967) is a Guyanese former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1987 to 2000, holding the WBC FECARBOX

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Yo ...

title in 1993. He was a protégé of legendary Guyanese trainer Maurice ‘Bizzy’ Boyce.

Professional career

Murray made his professional debut on 18 October 1987, defeating Keith Anthony by first-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(KO) in his hometown of

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

. After winning 10 of his first 11 fights he defeated Lalta Narine for the vacant national

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

title on 26 December 1990, retaining once against former Olympian Michael Anthony. From there he moved up two weight classes to capture the vacant national

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

title in 1991 by beating Winston Goodridge, the man who had handed him his first defeat three years prior. On 18 April 1993, he defeated

Jacobin Yoma Jacobin Yoma (born 6 October 1966) is a French Guianan former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 1999, and held the European super-featherweight title from 1993 to 1995. He was nicknamed ''l'Ouragan de Cayenne'' (The Cayenne Hurricane) ...

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

in Georgetown for the vacant WBC FECARBOX

title, considered to be the best performance of his 13-year career and one of the best bouts to have ever taken place on Guyanese soil. After two more victories, he faced Anatoly Alexandrov in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

for the WBC International super-featherweight title, but was knocked out in the second round. He lost four of his next five fights, including a third-round

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

(TKO) at the hands of future world champ

Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...

, before hanging up his gloves in 2000 with a record of 19–6. After his retirement, he became a boxing trainer in his homeland, working with a number of young prospects.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Joseph Living people 1967 births Guyanese male boxers Featherweight boxers Super-featherweight boxers Lightweight boxers Sportspeople from Georgetown, Guyana Guyanese sports coaches