{"id":51347,"date":"2015-03-03T21:19:12","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T03:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=51347"},"modified":"2019-05-03T14:15:21","modified_gmt":"2019-05-03T20:15:21","slug":"gene-hatcher-from-fisticuffs-to-the-pulpit-a-champion-has-success-in-both-arenas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=51347","title":{"rendered":"Gene Hatcher: From Fisticuffs to the Pulpit \u2013 A Champion has Success in Both Arenas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hatcher\"<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018When night subdues the rage of day<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And moonlight creeps to where I nod,<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll pray redemption comes my way,<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

through the broken glass on the road to God\u201d.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Life, by its very nature, is a challenging journey. There are no easy paths and, to quote the title of a Jim Morrison biography, \u201cNo One Here Gets Out Alive\u201d. But there is a spirituality that comes with self awareness and few people are more in touch with their own dark corners than professional fighters. Please note that I used the word \u2018Spirituality\u2019 and not the word \u2018Religion\u2019. There is a difference. Religion is what\u2019s handed down to you as a child, the faiths of men\u2026Spirituality is a level of consciousness that emanates from a power within us, a divinity that builds through endurance, resilience\u2026…penance.<\/p>\n

Whether that divinity is born within us or blessed upon us from the heavens is entirely a matter for those lucky enough to have attained some level of spirituality but the path to it is often a painful one. It comes as no surprise then that such a state of self awareness often follows as a consequence for a life spent battling in the ring. Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins\u2026.these are all boxers who have found spirituality regardless of the name they have attached to it. But there are times that fighters hand themselves over to the service of God and Gene \u201cMad Dog\u201d Hatcher is one such puncher turned preacher.<\/p>\n

Love affairs with boxing are very often born from the bond between fathers and sons and Gene Hatcher\u2019s lifelong passion for the game began at the age of ten when his father took him to a golden gloves competition. As the fights wore on, the young Gene fell under a spell that would enchant him through the ages. Eleven years later, he was US National AAU Welterweight champion and, was it not for the US team boycott of the Moscow Olympics, Gene could have been a gold medalist with his name etched in the history books. Unfazed by the disappointment, Gene turned pro and he stepped through the ropes for his debut bout on April 23rd<\/sup> 1981 in his hometown of Forth Worth, Texas. The fight was over within a round and \u201cMad Dog\u201d Hatcher was on his way.<\/p>\n

20 fights and two years later and Gene was sharing the ring with future IBF World Super Lightweight Champion, the very tough Joe Manley. They would contest for the ESPN Light Welterweight Title and, in a performance that would showcase Hatcher\u2019s outstanding skills, Gene won a one sided points decision and set himself up for a crack at the crown. On June 1st<\/sup> 1984, Gene \u201cMad Dog\u201d Hatcher went toe to toe against the wonderfully talented and then unbeaten WBA Light Welter champion Johnny \u201c\u2018Bump City\u201d Bumphus. In an action packed bout, that saw both men stay within two feet of each other all night, Gene\u2019s strength seemed to be a commanding factor as the night wore on. In the 11th<\/sup> round, Hatcher caught Bumphus with a crushing left cross that sent the champion to the canvas. Johnny was unsteady as he got to his feet and Gene moved in for the finish. With 30 seconds left in the round, referee Johnny LoBianco stopped the bout to save Bumphus from further punishment and all hell broke loose in the ring. As Gene celebrated with his team, the former champion insisted that the bout continue and went about attacking Gene. Officials had to separate them but \u201cMad Dog\u201d Hatcher, the kid from Forth Worth was king of the world and, at only 25 yrs old, the future looked bright for Gene.<\/p>\n

Following his father\u2019s death in 1994, Gene\u2019s devotion to his faith became entrenched. A committed Christian, Hatcher would later say that he was proud of his \u201cfire and brimstone\u201d upbringing and his sense of spirituality defined him as a person both within his training camp and within his family. But fame would bring its own desires and Gene would freely admit that celebrity sat uncomfortably with him when he reflected back on some of his decisions. Gene and his wife had lost a son in 1982 and the fractures within him had never fully healed. The child had been born 10 weeks prematurely and they had endured 29 unbearable days while the doctors and hospital staff fought for his sons\u2019 survival and failed. His career went from strength to strength and, 6 months after winning the title, he retained the belt in a brutally tough bout with \u201cThe Snake Man\u201d, Ubaldo Nestor Sacco. Now, widely hailed as an exciting and charismatic champion, life would apply pressures on Gene that would reopen old wounds and he began to experience a depression and a loneliness that he could only reconcile through his devotion and faith.<\/p>\n

A bruising rematch with Sacco would see Gene lose his title when the fight was stopped on cuts and this would be a problem that plagued the remainder of his career. He varied weights over the coming years and even landed a WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Title in 1986 but Gene\u2019s greatest battle was being waged within and by the time he reached 28, he felt that he was losing that war. In 1988, Gene was experiencing his darkest hour and he was contemplating suicide when a powerful experience changed his life. In a 2010 interview, he recounted that \u201cI had decided to shoot myself and, literally at the same time, I looked up to see a picture of my beautiful wife and children I remembered it was her birthday. I was washing her car and this is where God brought me to my knees in my front yard. I remember crying out after falling to my knees and saying \u201cLord, I can\u2019t go on anymore\u2026will you please help me\u201d. I\u2019m telling you my friend that he did and he did forever. He changed everything. The rainy cloud went away and I thank him every day for that. Thank you Jesus\u201d.<\/p>\n

Today, Gene heads Hatcher Ministries in Forth Worth, Texas. He looks back on a life sometimes steeped in sadness, often filled with joy but always rooted in the great spirituality and devotion that, ultimately, saved him when hope itself was gone. He was an inspiration both inside and outside the ring and, as a fight fan and a flawed human being, I want to finish by saying what a pleasure it was to research and write this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018When night subdues the rage of day And moonlight creeps to where I nod, I\u2019ll pray redemption comes my way, through the broken glass on the road to God\u201d. Life, by its very nature, is a challenging journey. There are no easy paths and, to quote the title of a Jim Morrison biography, \u201cNo One […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[12295],"class_list":["post-51347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-gene-hatcher-from-fisticuffs-to-the-pulpit-a-champion-has-success-in-both-arenas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51347"}],"version-history":[{"count":-2,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51347\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}