He has often been mentioned in this board for being put to sleep in 45 seconds by Lloyd Honeyghan, but before he moved up to welterweight he shocked Lou Duva's protege, then undefeated Johnny Bumphus, taking the jr welterweight title from him.
I remember him as a not very graceful and wild, bull-like rusher, who was cut very often. His 2 defenses against Ubaldo Sacco of Argentina were entertaining give-and-take battles. I thought Sacco was robbed on the first one, and in the rematch he completely dominated Hatcher, reducing him to a bloody mess before the referee stopped the fight.
Any recollections/anecdotes on Hatcher?
Gene "Mad Dog" Hatcher
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crooked nose
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 284
- Joined: 17 Oct 2003, 18:54
I enjoyed watching Hatcher. He had limitations, but he gave his best. Of course his career highlight was the Bumphus KO. Hatcher was way behind. But as the fight progressed, Bumphus began to wilt and Hatcher was unhurt. At the end of the ninth or tenth round, there was some punching after the bell. Duva got into the ring and there was a lot of pushing and shoving. Hatcher got pissed and stepped up the pace. In the 11th, Mad Dog finally landed the money punch, a left hook that left Bumphus flopping about like a jellyfish. Bumphus got up, but could only try to grab and hold while trying to get his spaghetti legs together. The ref stopped it but Bumphus tried to keep fighting. A wild scene. I had always thought Bumphus was overrated and coddled, so I saw the result as a vindication. It's great when a hard-working, honest fighter like Hatcher can have his day.
That was an exciting night because there was another upset, Bramble over Mancini.
I also thought Bumphus was overrated but I had not expected Mad Dog to pull the upset. I think one of his main flaws was his suspect chin and there were also theories at the time that his 300+ amateur bouts were too much for his body to handle. And some signs of that had come when he won the title unimpressively with a decision against Lorenzo Garcia from Argentina, a fight were he also had to pick himself up from the canvas.
Hatcher reminded me a lot of Vito Antuofermo, not only physically but also because of his style of going all out and roughing up his opponents.
The problem with the 140 title holders in the mid to late 80s is that they had to fill in the shoes of Aaron Pryor and the belts switched hands usually on the first title defense. Bumphus-Hatcher-Sacco-Oliva, etc... by the WBA, and Costello-Lonnie Smith-Arredondo-Roger Mayweather, etc... by the WBC. Then of course came Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez and also another good fighter who was not in the same level, but held on to the WBA belt for a good while: Martin "El Latigo" Coggi.
I also thought Bumphus was overrated but I had not expected Mad Dog to pull the upset. I think one of his main flaws was his suspect chin and there were also theories at the time that his 300+ amateur bouts were too much for his body to handle. And some signs of that had come when he won the title unimpressively with a decision against Lorenzo Garcia from Argentina, a fight were he also had to pick himself up from the canvas.
Hatcher reminded me a lot of Vito Antuofermo, not only physically but also because of his style of going all out and roughing up his opponents.
The problem with the 140 title holders in the mid to late 80s is that they had to fill in the shoes of Aaron Pryor and the belts switched hands usually on the first title defense. Bumphus-Hatcher-Sacco-Oliva, etc... by the WBA, and Costello-Lonnie Smith-Arredondo-Roger Mayweather, etc... by the WBC. Then of course came Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez and also another good fighter who was not in the same level, but held on to the WBA belt for a good while: Martin "El Latigo" Coggi.
Hatcher had two bruisers with Alfredo Escalera (ex world Junior Lightweight champ) ...anyone here seen either of these fights?.
I remember the Hatcher vs Bumphus fight well and although it was an upset, as the bout progressed you could see Gene getting stronger and stronger and Bumphus getting weaker and weaker. Didn't Bumphus trainer/manager Lou Duva make some scene following the fights end as was his way when one of his fighters lost???....
I remember the Hatcher vs Bumphus fight well and although it was an upset, as the bout progressed you could see Gene getting stronger and stronger and Bumphus getting weaker and weaker. Didn't Bumphus trainer/manager Lou Duva make some scene following the fights end as was his way when one of his fighters lost???....
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crooked nose
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 284
- Joined: 17 Oct 2003, 18:54
Yes, the scene in the ring after Bumphus was stopped was wild. Bumphus finally got his legs under him and decided he was ready to continue fighting. Duva was raging, as usual. But I can't see what their problem was. The punch was clean and solid - you couldn't hit anyone harder than Mad Dog hit Bumphus. He crawled back up, but he could only stumble around drunk. Fight over, case closed. Embarrassing moment for the whole Duva camp.
...I ve never been a big fan of him...