Remembering Hector Macho Camacho

By Peter Silkov

Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho, was one of the brightest talents of the 1980s, blessed with a flashy mixture of speed and ring-craft, which drew comparisons with Sugar Ray Leonard. At his best in the mid-80s, Camacho mixed blinding hand speed, with aggressiveness and knockout power. He was also a great showman, with great charisma, and one of the first boxers to really harness the walk to the ring as part of his act, entering the ring dressed in a series of colourful and outrageous outfits. He was also known for his fight time chant of ‘Its Macho Time!’

The ’Macho Man’ had a complicated relationship with the fans and boxing media, some being alienated by his flamboyance and perceived arrogance, while others hailed him as a great entertainer. Despite his boastful persona, Camacho always had a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, and didn’t seem to take himself as seriously as many of those around him.

Camacho fought the best fighters of the 80s and 90s, including Jose Luis Ramirez, Edwin Rosario, Vinnie Pazienza, Ray Mancini, Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Oscar Delahoya, amongst others. In what was probably his best career performance, Camacho out-pointed Ramirez for the WBC world lightweight title in 1985, with a scintillating display of aggressive boxing.

The 90s saw Camacho’s career go into decline and he was beaten by Chavez, Trinidad and Delahoya, but he also beat Duran (2 times) and Leonard in high profile fights.
Camacho had his last fight in 2010; (a point’s loss to Saul Duran) aged 48.
His final record was 79(38kos)-6-3... He was never stopped in his career.

Hector Camacho was reportedly getting ready for another comeback to the ring, when he was shot in the face on Nov 20, 2012, while sitting in a parked car with a friend outside a bar in Puerto Rico. His friend died at the scene, while Camacho died four days later at age 50.

When Camacho’s coffin was carried through the streets of New York’s Spanish Harlem by a horse drawn carriage, thousands of people from the ’Macho Man’s’ old neighbourhood waited to pay their respects to the man, who, despite all the fame and wealth that his talent had gained him, never forgot where he came from, and perhaps never truly left either.


Copyright © 2013 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved. Peter Silkov contributes to www.theboxingglove.com and www.theboxingtribune.com