Tallon Smith

Local Illawarra sporting identity Lee Murray is preparing for one of his most ambitious challenges yet ahead of this weekend’s 65,000 Reasons To Fight fundraiser in support of local mental health programs.

The 36-hour event at his Titleshot Boxing and Fitness gym in Wollongong is in benefit of Talk2MeBro, a charity which aims to end suicide in Australia by delivering crucial mental health education and support.

Alongside raising funds and awareness, Murray is also aiming to break the Guinness World Record of catching 500 three-minute rounds in the boxing ring, along with the added challenge of trying to catch 65,000 punches, one for every suicide attempt in Australia each year.

Speaking on the fundraiser and world record attempt, Murray said it was all driven by a desire to help people and the community after experiencing the pain of losing friends to suicide.

“500 three-minute rounds is the current Guinness World Record, so obviously looking to beat that, and then the addition is trying to catch 65,000 punches along the way, in recognition of suicide attempts each year in Australia,” he said.

“I’ve lost a few mates to suicide, so there was a link and a way to try and spread the word or help people.

“Obviously an event through boxing was the next step, I tried to get a couple of celebrity fights, [that] was the first initial idea.

“That fell through, and then that sort of led now into searching through Guinness and finding a record that’s quite substantial that will hopefully draw interest and spread the word for the cause while chasing this record.

“We’ve got Talk2MeBro on board and are raising some funds for those guys who are doing God’s work out there.”

The choice of a boxing event was a natural one for Murray given his background in the sport.

A three-time world champion trainer in his almost three decades in the sport, he is more than familiar with calling numbers and catching punches from the best.

“I’ve been training fighters since 1998, so 27 years now,” he said.

“I started working with the Australian Middleweight champion, I’ve worked with an African national champion, took him to a Commonwealth title, and then it led to three world titles in different sanctioning bodies throughout the years.”

In preparation for the event, Murray said he has been steadily increasing his workload to ensure his conditioning will be sufficient for 36 hours of straight catching, leading to some long days and not so restful nights.

“[My preparation has been] poor sleep, busy days, catching 200 rounds, trying to up that workload and hopefully that gets me through,” he said.

“It’s going to be tough.”

Outside of his day job running the Titleshot gym, Murray is perhaps best known as the founder and President of the Wollongong Bulldogs Australian Football Club, a club where players and supporters affectionately refer to him as the “Dogfather”.

Based at Keira Oval, and training at the University of Wollongong Ovals, the club has been described as a ‘home away from home’ for many students, particularly those who move to study in Wollongong from the Aussie Rules-loving area of the Southern Riverina.

A self-confessed sports fanatic who ended up playing and/or coaching over 350 games for the club, Murray said that he started the Bulldogs to build a welcoming club with a culture and structure that he envisioned.

“Since I was a kid I’ve obviously been involved in sport, all different sports, and the underlying burning thing is ‘why do they do it that way’, ‘why don’t they zone’, ‘why don’t they play man on man’, so I guess it was sort of putting money where my mouth is,” he said.

“I had an idea of what a club structure and identity should look like and that belief system sort of thing there, and went out and built my own team and coached my own sides and away we went there.”

With such a strong connection between the club and the gym, of which many players are members, Murray said that there will be plenty of Doggies players and staff involved with the upcoming fundraiser both in the ring and in other roles.

“We’ll have a great involvement from the club, a lot of supporters there.

“They’ll be rocking up in numbers at all odd hours to get this thing done.”

Before starting the Bulldogs, Murray was also a more than handy local rugby league player, playing for the Berkeley Eagles, Helensburgh Tigers and Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles in the Illawarra and Group 7 competitions as well as playing interstate and even trialling for a number of NRL clubs.

“I coached second grade in the local Illawarra competition here with the Berkeley Eagles, and prior to that I played down with South Adelaide Bulldogs in the South Australian competition,” he said.

“I had a trial in the Super League days with the Adelaide Rams, trialled with South Sydney Rabbitohs and trialled with the Penrith Panthers.

“[I played] probably one of the best games I’ve ever played in that trial but still didn’t get picked up.

“Feather in the cap and story on the page.”

With the 65,000 Reasons To Fight event approaching this weekend, Murray’s long career and history of contributions to Illawarra sport has seen support coming from a wide variety of people, clubs and organisations across the region.

When asked about his message for anyone who wants to get involved with or donate to the fundraiser, Murray said that any support of the incredibly important cause will be much appreciated.

“If you can spare a dollar please do, we’ll have links up for GoFundMe pages and things like that with funds going directly to Talk2MeBro,” he said. 

“Otherwise if you can’t, give us a like, give us a share, give us a follow, and help spread the word.

“And if you’re struggling, pop in and say hi, get some things and talk out your problems.

“Always up for a bit of a chat and here to help.”

The fundraiser will kick off on Saturday and run through to Sunday, with appearances from former NSW Origin star Shaun Timmins, and a few Illawarra Hawks basketball players, as well as Mick O’Donnell, the man Murray coached to the WBF Cruiserweight World Title.

Donations to the 65,000 Reasons To Fight fundraiser can be made here.