According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former junior welterweight Johnny Bumphus passed away from Cardiac Arrest at age 59 in Tacoma, Washington.
“‘Bump City’ was the very first of the 28 champions that Main Events has nurtured to world titles throughout our existence,” Main Events CEO Kathy Duva told ESPN. “In January of 1984, he became the first of four world champions to win titles with Main Events that year. Soon after, Johnny’s best friend, Rocky Lockridge, joined him in wearing a world title belt. Mike McCallum and Livingstone Bramble soon followed.
“The thing I remember best about Johnny was how much he loved music. He was the first person I ever knew who walked around with a Walkman in his ear virtually all the time. I used to think that it was as if he decided to set his life to music. And that smile! It was so beautiful.”
“Johnny was clever, playful and very funny,” Duva said. “Sadly, he was also the first fighter who, to my mind, made it obvious how dangerous the combination of substance abuse and extreme weight loss could be for a fighter. I believe that all of this abuse not only cut his career short, but caused Johnny to suffer through many physical problems throughout the rest of his life. I hope that he has finally found some peace.”
