Hector Camacho Sr. 1962-2012

Hector Camacho Sr. & Jr.

By Randy De La O

It's official, Hector Macho Camacho, who had never been knocked out in a fight has finally taken the ten count. God Bless this great warrior and again, my condolences to the Camacho family. R.I.P. Macho Man!!

I first saw Hector Camacho back in 1992 when he fought Louie Loy. It was a televised fight. I don't remember what channel. Loy was a good fighter, Camacho was fast, unbelievably fast. He beat Loy and he did it with panache. Back then the standard for speed was Sugar Ray Leonard. Camacho was faster than Leonard.

During his career Camacho fought the best of his era, including, Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Greg Haugen, Vinnie Pazienza, Tony Baltazar , Louie Burke and so many more. His own record reads like a Hall of Fame roster. Sometimes he bit off more than he could chew. Camacho enjoyed playing the bad guy. He enjoyed pissing off fight fans but if you were paying attention, you knew he was doing it with a wink. He didn't seem to take it all to serious. He was having fun. Sometimes his pride caused him to say things he shouldn't before a fight. Sometimes he paid the price for it. Sometimes he took a licking. On those times he never made excuses and he always took his licking like a man.

His personal life was his own business. I only know what I read. Seems like he was always searching for something. Sometimes he put himself on the wrong side of the law. Still, with that wry smile, he seemed to take it all in stride. He was after all Hector Camacho.

Speaking of the smile, Hector Camacho's Smile had to be one of the most genuine smiles in boxing. Despite his image as one of boxing's bad boys, he always managed to keep a smile of his face. I never saw him sneer at someone, he just smiled. He had the mischievous smile of a young boy that was caught with his hands in the cookie jar. The smile told you that "Yeah, you caught me but I'm still gonna eat the cookie" and he did. Camacho was not just a boxer, he was an entertainer. 

He will be missed. R.I.P. Hector Camacho.