Garden State Prospect Watch: Chris Murphy

From center ice to the squared circle, Chris Murphy is a fighter.

A Sparta, New Jersey native with a professional ledger of 3-0 (3 KO’s), Murphy’s come forward fighting style erected from his first love, hockey.

Murphy first picked up a stick at age five and exclusively played hockey throughout most of his childhood. His first amateur boxing match was at 15. While time has helped him progress as a fighter, Murphy was always a major hit on the ice, pun intended.

Less than two years after his first fight, Murphy took his act to Canada after being recruited during an AAU hockey tournament. The 17 year old Murphy spent the next three years north of the United States playing in the renowned Canadian Junior Hockey League. Murphy then received a hockey scholarship from Merrimack College, playing one year before venturing into hockey’s minor leagues.

Just like most athletes, Murphy had aspirations to play professional sports at the highest level. Research led me to his stats, which included six goals and nine assists in 2005 for a team called the Pee Dee Cyclones. While he may not have scored as many goals or dished out the number of assists he wanted to, Murphy built a reputation as a tough S.O.B. on the ice.

Murphy had 26 fights during his first year as a professional, compiling a total of 226 penalty minutes. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way he had planned. Although he was very much the Donald Brashear of minor league hockey, Murphy never made it to the next level; playing briefly with four teams from 2005-2007 before walking away from his first love for good.

“I wanted to make it to the NHL but I quit the sport at age 22 because I didn’t think I could realistically make it anymore”, Murphy reminisced.

With hockey out of the way, Murphy rededicated himself to boxing. Murphy previously fought a few times per summer, lacing the gloves up during hockey’s offseason. The majority of his fights were in 2007 and 2008, finishing up as an unpaid boxer with a mediocre 20-8 record. His most notable bout was a decision loss to National Golden Gloves champion and fellow New Jerseyan Dennis Douglin.

“It’s funny because (when I look back at my amateur career), I was 200 lbs for most of my early fights”, said Murphy, who plans to drop to the 147 lb Welterweight limit shortly.

It seems like every time a fighter turns pro nowadays, his track record includes a ton of victories and an amateur championship in a significant tournament. An excellent example is stablemate Jeremy Bryan, an 11-0 pro prospect who won both the National Golden Gloves and the PAL championship in 2004 and 2005. Even without the amateur pedigree that a lot of fighters have, Murphy is far from concerned.

“You have to realize that these guys with 400 fights get hit a lot.”

So far, so good for the 25 year old former hockey player, who is perhaps a real life Happy Gilmore opposed to the ridiculously overused real life Rocky.

Murphy jolted into the professional ranks this February, stopping Kenneth Meeks just one minute and twenty seven seconds after the opening bell. He wrapped up his second bout even quicker, putting James Walker away in 1:12. I attended his last fight, a third round TKO over La-Take Williams, a bout in which he stalked his opponent from the opening bell before overwhelming him with an onslaught of punches.

During a recent sparring session I attended at the Passaic Boxing Club, Murphy wasted little time in getting on the inside of the 6’1 Bobby Rooney. In a sparring session or a fight, most pugilists feel each other out early on before attempting to set the tone. Not Murphy. No matter whom he fights or spars Murphy admits he can only go in one direction; forward.

Murphy’s next journey into the ring will take place on August 27 against fellow North Jerseyan Abraham Torres 1-3-1 of Union City. Come fight night, Torres will step into the ring for the first time in over two years. Regardless of Torres’ record, Murphy dismisses the idea of taking his opponent lightly.

“I heard he is tough and comes to fight so I am training as if it were a twelve round fight (not a four rounder).”

How far the all-action Murphy goes remains to be seen, his fan friendly style does not make him the hardest guy to hit, as Rooney and Glen Tapia were able tag Murphy with some good shots during the sparring session I observed.

“I looked up to guys like Arturo Gatti (whose co-trainer Mike “Mikey Red” Skowronski heads training duties for Murphy) and Ray Mancini”, Murphy said, which clearly explains why he fights the way he does.

Regardless of who stands across the ring, whether it be a 200 lb sparring partner or a skilled boxer during a real match, Murphy will press the fight from bell to bell.





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