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Bloomfield tragedy
By Clive Bernath: Johnny Bloomfield, the trainer responsible for taking Michael Sprott to the British heavyweight title, has died suddenly at the age of 57.
John, who also worked with heavyweight icon and former world champion Frank Bruno later in his career, was discovered collapsed on the floor in the hallway of his home in Feltham, west London early this morning by a neighbour. Conformation of the cause of death is not clear at this time but it is thought he had suffered a heart attack.
Apart from Bruno and Sprott, John trained many fighters over the years including former champions James Cook (European) and Andy Till (British).
On a personal level, I had known John for more than 20 years ever since his amateur days, training youngsters at the Hogarth ABC in Chiswick, west London in the early eighties. John, along with his then partner Harry Holland, then turned over to the professional game with amateur stars Gary Hobbs and Rocky Kelly. John and Harry quickly gained a reputation for training exciting value for money fighters, which always reflected well on the excellent small hall boxing circuit around west London at that time.
The news of John's death was totally unexpected and comes exactly a week after the death of another respected west London fight figure Dennie Mancini.
The thoughts and prayers from both the staff and readers of SecondOut are with John's wife Sally and the entire Bloomfield family at this sad time.
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R.I.P JOHNNY