Tacoma boxing legend dies at 59. ‘Bump City’ was slated to fight in the 1980 Olympics
The fight is over for “Bump City.”
Johnny Bumphus, a Tacoma native who made a splash in the world of boxing in the 1970s and ‘80s, died earlier this month at St. Joseph Medical Center, not far from where he grew up on the Hilltop.
He was 59.
Bumphus’ nephew, Kevin Ryan, said the former junior welterweight world champion succumbed to congestive heart failure.
“He was a crafty dude with the gloves,” Ryan told The News Tribune. “He was an exciting boxer.”
Bumphus was one of seven children and the only boy, Ryan said. A southpaw, the fighter honed his craft at the old Tacoma Boys Club on Yakima before leaving Stadium High School as a sophomore to move to Nashville with coach Joe Clough.
Former News Tribune columnist John McGrath reported in 2003 that Bumphus won national amateur championships in three weight classes and was named to the 1980 U.S. Olympics team. He didn’t get to compete for a gold medal because the United States boycotted the 1980 games in Moscow.
Bumphus then turned pro, amassing a 29-2 record with 20 knockouts, according to boxingscene.com. In 1984, he won a unanimous decision over Lorenzo Garcia to win the then-vacant WBA 140-pound championship.
“‘Bump City’ Bumphus was one of the best junior welterweights who ever got into a ring,” former middleweight champion Alex Ramos told McGrath for his 2003 column. “He should’ve won a gold medal in the Olympics.”
Bumphus lost the WBA title later that year, and his life began a downward spiral that included drug addiction. In 1991, The News Tribune reported, Bumphus killed a man on the Hilltop after they argued over crack cocaine and the other man drew a knife and stabbed Bumphus a number of times. The case was ruled self-defense, and Bumphus wasn’t prosecuted.
Bumphus later got into treatment, and Boxing Hall of Fame manager Lou Duva got him work as a trainer in Florida, The News Tribune reported.
He coached a number of contenders and made a triumphant return to T-town in 2003 as head trainer for James Lubwama, who was on the card for the Battle of the Boat XXIII at the Emerald Queen Casino.
Bumphus eventually moved back to Tacoma and despite declining health remained active in the boxing scene, Ryan said, attending Golden Gloves fights and a reunion of the city’s boxing greats shortly before his death.
He talked about his career, his troubles and his love of boxing.
“To all the boxing fans throughout the world, thanks not only for supporting me but all the fighters out there,” the man known as “Bump City” said at the end of the interview.
Memorial service
▪ Friday, Feb. 14, 11 a.m.
▪ Edwards Temple Church of God, 1107 S. 21st St., Tacoma
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
