![]() ![]() Who could forget the Macho Man's outlandish, often skimpy, ring attire? Our personal favorite: the Roman soldier get-up he donned to fight Sugar Ray Leonard in 1997. It's going to kill me down the road.''įew, if any, were as talented or adept at self-promotion, hence his longevity. But Camacho long ago had lost interest in his demanding craft, carelessly squandering a shot at true greatness.After a narrow victory against Greg Haugen in 1991, he told me: "I can't abuse my body (anymore), living the nightlife as I do. He would later fight several boxing luminaries: Julio Cesar Chavez, Ray Mancini, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Duran, among others. Many Puerto Ricans, losing respect, never let him forget it.Īn ultra-sensitive sort, Camacho once told me: "When you get picked on all the time, you have a tendency to get insecure.'' ![]() Badly sliced over his left eye, legs wobbly, Camacho summoned his pride and courage, and he (barely) prevailed.Ĭamacho, a sharp but soft puncher, would spend much of the rest of his career in safety-first survival mode. Only 24, he was rocked like never before. That night ultimately stifled Camacho's true potential. But make no mistake: Hector Camacho also was highly accomplished in matters of hand-to-hand combat.įrom 130 to 135 pounds, the clever southpaw possessed blinding-fast hand speed and footwork to match, the latter of which he came to rely on after his confrontation with hard-hitting lightweight challenger Edwin Rosario at Madison Square Garden in 1986. He admired Bruce Lee, compared himself to Elvis. His last fight was in 2010, only 10 days before his 48th birthday.ĭripping in gold, and sporting a devilish curl of black hair on his forehead, Camacho was a cartoon character come to life - amusing, flamboyant, irreverent. He fought for another quarter of a century. Police said they retrieved 10 bags of cocaine from the vehicle, nine in the driver's possession.īack in the early '80s, Camacho's then-estranged manager, Billy Giles, told USA TODAY that his fighter was "drowning in drugs,'' that he "never will make it back.'' ![]() On Tuesday, the former three-time world champion was shot in the face as he sat in the passenger's seat of a vehicle the driver instantly was killed. Last year, Camacho was shot in Puerto Rico as he drove away from what he said were carjackers. And if anyone needed a governor on a high-revving engine, it was the mischievous "Macho Man'' - a 5-foot-6 born-to-be-wild whippet of sass. or that the former teenage car thief raised on the streets of Spanish Harlem fought professionally for 30 years, earning millions while pursuing decadence with reckless fury.Ĭamacho drove through life without a speedometer. We don't know what is more astounding: That Camacho - declared brain-dead Thursday and clinging to life in a Puerto Rican hospital - made it to 50 years old. During his fistic prime, the only thing faster than Hector Camacho's hands - or his mouth- was his lifestyle. ![]()
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