Joey DeJohn vs. Bob Murphy
Bob Murphy 183 lbs lost to Joey DeJohn 167 lbs by TKO at 2:01 in round 3 of 10
- Date: 1952-09-15
- Location: War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York, USA
- Referee: Ruby Goldstein
This turned out to be the pinnacle of DeJohn’s career and his best victory. The fight was scheduled for eight rounds. DeJohn was a 2 ½ to 1 underdog and he gave away 16 ½ pounds to the San Diego southpaw who came into the bout with a record of 65-7-1 (58 KO). DeJohn had the option of calling the bout off because the stipulated limit for the bout was 176 pounds, which Murphy came in 7 ½ pounds heavier, but DeJohn never gave it a second thought and went on to pummel his bigger foe. “Referee Ruby Goldstein, imported from New York especially for this bout, stopped it at 2:01 of the third round to save Murphy from further punishment, as he swayed helplessly under a rain of punches.” A viscious right uppercut early in the first round lifted Bob completely off of the ring floor, the punch really hurt Murphy who never did get the opportunity to clear his head as a hard left hook deposited him on the canvas for only the second time in his career; Clarence Henry was the other man who knocked him down. After the bell rang ending the first round DeJohn relaxed and five seconds later Murphy threw a right hook that dropped DeJohn leaving him glassy-eyed. Joey recovered well during the minute rest and came out for the second and landed some good straight punches that seemed to have Bob in a dazed state. At the end of the second, Murphy’s left eye was almost completely closed, with a wide cut above the eye, in addition to minor cuts on both cheeks. As the third got under way, Joey was landing some heavy shots that now had Bob visibly hurt. DeJohn trapped his foe on the ropes and straightened him up with a left hook and then let loose with both fists from which Murphy was helpless to defend against. It was then that referee Goldstein stepped in and called a halt to the hostilities. A crowd of 7,997 paid a total of $45,826. Weights: DeJohn-167, Murphy-183 ½.
Source: Syracuse Post Standard