Sad to report the passing of former WBA super lightweight champion Johnny “Bump City” Bumphus from cardiac arrest last Friday in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. He was just 59. Bumphus was a member of the 1980 US Olympic team that boycotted the Moscow games. As a pro, he was 29-2 with 20 KOs, winning the vacant WBA belt on January 22, 1984, against Lorenzo Garcia in Atlantic City. He retired from the ring after challenging WBC/IBF welterweight champion Lloyd Honeyghan in 1987. RIP.
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A truly classic boxer I remember watching his fights on NBC back in the day.
Rest In Peace Champ!
RIP johnny, I watched many of your fights in the 80’s
Bump City! I watched him as he was coming up. He was a 6ft tall junior welterweight which drew him comparisons to Tommy Hearns. As I recall he also served as a sheriff deputy in Tenessee while he was a world champion. I think he fought out of Nashville. I also remember reading an article in Ring Magazine about boxers being good at video games and cited Bumphus as being one of the best! Rest easy champ!
I believe you have Johnny confused with junior middleweight contender Clint Jackson (sheriff’s deputy).
No, I don’t. I remember Clint Jackson as well, but Bumphus was also a sheriff deputy. I vividly remember a picture of him in Ring Magazine of him sporting one of those deputy hats. I don’t think he stuck with it after he retired from boxing.
*No. I didn’t.
Ok, looked it up-both Jackson and Bumphus were former sheriff deputies for the Nashville Sheriff’s Department and both ran afoul with the law after their boxing and presumably sheriff’s careers were over. Jackson is currently serving a life sentence for kidnapping and extortion. Both were Olympians, Jackson in 1976, and Bumphus on the 1980 team that boycotted. I’m sure it was no coincidence that both were deputies in the same department. They must have had a mutual trainer as amateurs that was involved with the department and got them the job, or something along those lines.
RIP CHAMP
I saw his fight with Honeyghan – Lloyd’s first defence post Curry I think. Had him down in the first and rushed across the ring at the start of the second and caught him. Over shortly afterwards. Full L Duva meltdown and demands for a rematch but Johnny knew it was over and did not pursue it. RIP
Godspeed Champ!
Another fine fighter that caught a tough break, in this dirty game, against Gene Hatcher. Hatcher threw Bumphus to the canvass and the referee was able to find a spot to step in and stop the fight. Bumphus was in control of the fight before getting robbed of his opportunity for the Lightweight title. RIP
NJ Boxing – Not even CLOSE to being factual I am afraid. First of all, Johnny was the Junior Welterweight champion. At 6-feet tall, he was having absolute murder making 140. Watch the fight…he had NO legs whatsoever underneath him in the latter stages of that fight. He was wobbling and flailing all over the ring at the end and clearly wiliting, while Hatcher – a fighter of lesser talent – was strong and coming on like a machine. Johnny himself never blamed the ref for that loss.
* He did at one point in time kind of get thrown to the canvas, but even Johnny said years afterwards — “I was absolutely DONE. Just had NO legs underneath me.”
I watched the fight when it happened and and thought no way in hell was Hatcher going to beat Bumphus and was stunned when he did. I admit-I just watched it on Youtube, and yes, Bumphus clearly had no legs and would have been KO’d for sure had the ref not stopped it. No controversy at all. Now hot head Lou Duva tried to attack Hatcher, but was luckily restrained. He wasn’t so lucky when he tried to attack Roger Mayweather after Mayweather destroyed his fighter Vinny Paz! Mayweather scored a double Knockout that night as he iced Duva as well! I forgot Bumphus fought switch stanced! It even looked like he favored the southpaw stance.