Johnny Bumphus American boxer, former world junior welterweight champion Date of Birth: 17.08.1960 Country: USA

1. Biography of Johnny Bumphus
2. Early Life and Amateur Career
3. Notable Achievements
4. Professional Career
5. Later Years
6. Olympic Games and Lucky Escape

Biography of Johnny Bumphus

Johnny Bumphus is an American boxer and former world champion in the welterweight division. Despite his relatively short professional career, Bumphus established himself as an outstanding boxer, winning the WBA title and only losing two out of 31 fights.

Early Life and Amateur Career

Bumphus was born in Tacoma, Washington. He started boxing at a young age, stepping into the ring as an amateur at the age of 8 in a local boxing club for boys. His talent as a young boxer was evident through his periodic victories in major tournaments, accumulating a total of 341 wins and only 16 losses by the end of his amateur career. Bumphus was one of five world champions who began boxing in Tacoma, alongside Freddie Steele, Rocky Lockridge, Sugar Ray Seales, and Leo Randolph.

Notable Achievements

Among Bumphus' many accomplishments, his victory at the 1977 AAU National Championship in the light welterweight division and his win at the 1979 Golden Gloves Championship stand out. In the former, Bumphus defeated Lee Simmons from Akron, Ohio, in a points victory. In 1979, he defeated Efrain Nieves in the final held in Indianapolis.

Professional Career

Bumphus had a confident start to his professional career, winning his first 22 fights. He secured the WBA welterweight title in 1984 by defeating Lorenzo Luis Garcia on points. However, he lost the title in June of the same year to Gene Hatcher in Buffalo, New York. The fight caused controversy, as Hatcher delivered a technical knockout in the 11th round. After the bell rang, a new brawl broke out in the ring, and Bumphus, having lost his title, was forced to leave. The fight was later dubbed the "1984's Main Upset" by Ring magazine.

Later Years

In 1987, Bumphus made another attempt at a championship title, this time for the WBC and IBF welterweight titles against Lloyd Honeyghan. Unfortunately, he was knocked out in the second round, marking the end of his professional career. By then, Bumphus had recorded 29 wins and 2 losses. Towards the end of his boxing career, Bumphus fell victim to cocaine addiction, which was previously unknown in Tacoma. He managed to overcome his addiction temporarily but relapsed after retiring. It was not until 1995 that he entered a rehabilitation clinic for a year and later left Tacoma to work as a trainer in his former manager's team.

Olympic Games and Lucky Escape

In 1980, Bumphus was supposed to compete in the Olympic Games as part of the American team. However, he was not selected for the event called 'USA vs. The World,' which turned out to be a stroke of luck. Bumphus narrowly avoided being on LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007, which crashed on March 14, 1980, in Warsaw, Poland, claiming the lives of several American boxers. Despite this fortunate escape, Bumphus did not make it to the Olympics as the United States decided to boycott the Soviet Games.