Fight:20156

Terry McGovern beat Harlem Tommy Murphy by TKO at 2:08 in round 1 of 6

• Date: 1905-10-18
• Location: National A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• Referee: Jack McGuigan

The large club house was packed with 3,500 fans (tickets sold-out) that showed up to witness the bout and were given a treat as McGovern come out like the McGovern of old and annihilated Murphy at 2:08 (some list 2:02) of the first round. Terry beat Murphy into such a helpless state that referee Jack McGuigan had no other alternative other than to stop the bout. Murphy was knocked down four times during the brief encounter and Terry left the ring without a scratch. The articles of agreement called for 127 pounds at 6:00 P.M., and both were under that weight. Betting was pretty lively at even money. Both men appeared to be in good condition when they entered the ring. When the gong sounded the men went right after one another. Murphy was little impressed with McGovern’s reputation as a brawler and stood there toe-to-toe with the terror of Brooklyn on even terms until Terry landed one of his famous straight rights and down Murphy went. It was a devastating punch and it was clear to everyone present that Murphy was in a bad way. As he reached his feet at the count of nine, Murphy staggered across the ring and met with a right uppercut that dropped him like he had been shot! Up again at the count of nine, Murphy was hit with a hard left to the jaw that almost sent him through the ropes, but was pushed back by spectators and turned around into a storm of blows. At this point Tommy was defenseless and after McGovern dropped him on two more occasions referee McGuigan stopped the bout and awarded McGovern the win by technical knockout at 2:08 of the first round. (Philadelphia Public Ledger)