Boxing world remembers Hector “Macho” Camacho, dead at 50

Boxing world remembers Hecto “Macho” Comacho, dead at 50

Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Hector “Macho” Camacho was a brash fighter with a mean jab and an aggressive style, launching himself furiously against some of the biggest names in boxing. And his bad-boy persona was not entirely an act, with a history of legal scrapes that began in his teens and continued throughout his life.

The man who once starred at the pinnacle of boxing, winning several world titles, died Saturday back in the Puerto Rican town of Bayamon where he was born, ambushed in a parking lot in a car where packets of cocaine were found.

Camacho, 50, left behind a reputation for flamboyance — leading fans in cheers of “It’s Macho time!” before fights — and for fearsome skills as one of the top fighters of his generation.

“He excited boxing fans around the world with his inimitable style,” promoter Don King told The Associated Press.

Camacho fought professionally for three decades, from his humble debut against David Brown at New York’s Felt Forum in 1980 to an equally forgettable swansong against Saul Duran in Kissimmee, Florida, in 2010.

In between, he fought some of the biggest stars spanning two eras, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Roberto Duran.

“Hector was a fighter who brought a lot of excitement to boxing,” said Ed Brophy, executive director of International the Boxing Hall of Fame. “He was a good champion. Roberto Duran is kind of in a class of his own, but Hector surely was an exciting fighter that gave his all to the sport.”