Ronald Hatcher Jr. (born June 28, 1959 in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
), better known as Gene Hatcher, is a former boxer who was world
light welterweight champion. His nickname was "Mad Dog."
Amateur career
Hatcher was a
United States Amateur Champion
The United States National Boxing Championships bestow the title of United States Champion on Olympic boxers for winning the annual national Olympic boxing tournament organized by USA Boxing, which is the national governing body for Olympic boxi ...
. In 1980 he became National AAU Welterweight Champion.
Early professional career
His most notable early win came against former WBC
super featherweight champion
Alfredo Escalera in 1982, when he won a ten-round decision. His next notable opponent,
Tyrone Crawley, defeated him by a ten-round decision. He followed that with a rematch in 1983 with Escalera. In that fight, Hatcher was dropped in round six and subsequently lost a unanimous ten-round decision.
Champion
After racking up a few wins, Hatcher faced
WBA light welterweight champion
Johnny Bumphus
Johnny 'Bump City' Bumphus (August 17, 1960 – January 31, 2020) was an American professional boxer who held the WBA super lightweight title in 1984 and challenged once for the WBC and IBF welterweight titles in 1987.
Amateur career
Bumphus ...
on June 1, 1984, in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
. In what
Ring magazine called its "Upset of the Year," Hatcher scored an eleventh-round technical knockout over Bumphus. When Hatcher knocked Bumphus down, he slipped and fell on a follow-up attempt. He then threw Bumphus down to the mat when both fighters clinched. A post-fight melee in the ring ensued after the stoppage.
Hatcher's first defense was against
Uby Sacco in December of the same year. He won a fifteen-round split decision. Sacco, however, won their July 1985 rematch (and title) with a ninth round
knockout win in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
(the fight was stopped by the referee because of a Hatcher cut). In Hatcher's next - and last - chance at a world crown, he lost by knockout in 45 seconds to
Lloyd Honeyghan in August 1987, with Honeyghan's
WBC and
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
welterweight belts being at stake.
Post-championship career
After losing to Honeyghan, Hatcher continued to fight. He had seven more fights, losing two (one of which was to future world champion Aaron Davis). After a victory in Ft. Worth over Juan Martin Galvan in 1995, Hatcher retired.
In his career, Hatcher won 32 fights and lost 7, with 23 wins by knockout.
External links
Boxing Record
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatcher, Gene
Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas
1959 births
Living people
Light-welterweight boxers
World boxing champions
Boxers from Texas
American male boxers