Dunphy, 90, Was Voice of Boxing

Don Dunphy, a Hall of Fame announcer who for decades was the voice of boxing, died Wednesday after undergoing heart surgery. He was 90.

In a career of more than 50 years, Dunphy broadcast almost every major sport, but it was boxing in which he made his biggest impact. He broadcast more than 2,000 fights and more than 200 title bouts, including 50 for the heavyweight championship.

His first championship fight was the Joe Louis-Billy Conn fight on June 18, 1941, a radio broadcast that drew a 56.2 rating.

He got the job when he won an audition conducted May 22, 1941 by Gillette, the sponsor. Several would-be announcers were taped as they called the Gus Lesnevich-Anton Christoforidis light-heavyweight title fight. In his 1988 book, “Don Dunphy at Ringside,” he joked that he got the job because he was the only one who could pronounce the fighters’ names.

The Louis-Conn fight was the first of Gillette’s weekly boxing series that ran into 1960 and included fights featuring Rocky Marciano, Jersey Joe Wolcott, Sugar Ray Robinson and Rocky Graziano.

He broadcast Muhammad Ali’s first TV bout in 1961 and his last one in 1981, and in the intervening years called the three epic Ali-Joe Frazier bouts. His last major title fight was the Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns welterweight title bout in 1981.

Dunphy is survived by his wife of 56 years, Muriel, and two sons, Don Jr., a vice president with ABC News, and Bob, an independent TV sports producer and director.