Gene Hatcher

Dubbed 'Mad Dog,' this Fort Worth pugilist won the WBA junior welterweight title in June 1984 in Buffalo NY from Johnny Bumphus, scoring a questionable and bizarre 11th-round TKO that featured Hatcher knocking Bumphus down, then slipping and falling on a follow-up attempt, then throwing Bumphus down to the mat when both fighters clinched. A post-fight melee in the ring then ensued, as Hatcher was celebrating in triumph wile the now-deposed champion was slugging away in frustration. Gene first defended his belt against Argentine Ubaldo Sacco in December 1984 with 15-round decision. Sacco, however, won the July 1985 rematch (and title) with a 9th-round cuts win in Italy. In Hatcher's next - and last - stab at a world crown, he convincingly lost in 40 seconds to Lloyd Honeyghan in August 1987, with Honeyghan's WBC and IBF welterweight belts being at stake.