Hector Camacho still going strong
The first time Hector Camacho fought a Duran it was a certain Roberto Duran back in 1996. At the time they were two legendry fighters winding down their careers with one final super-fight.
Or so we thought.
Fast- forward 14 years and “Macho” is again going toe-to-toe with a Duran. It’s not “Hands of Stone” this time, but Mexican slugger Saul Duran.
What is Camacho thinking? You know it’s probably time to hang up the gloves when your son is a 51-fight veteran. It was bad enough when he faced Roberto Duran again in 2001, a bout where the consensus was “this is surely their last fight”. It was for the Panamanian, but Camacho is still going strong, despite the fact he turns 48 on May 24th.
It’s hard to say why Camacho is still fighting and he’s risking becoming punch drunk with this his 80th professional bout. The fight itself takes place in Florida on Friday and they are hocking this around the States on pay-per-view for $9.99. I don’t know how many people in America are interested in watching a granddad take on a journeyman but you suspect that this won’t be Camacho’s nest egg.
Duran fights off a record of 36-16-2 and the highlight of his career was an eighth-round TKO against “El Temble” himself Jose Luis Castillo. He has a reputation as something of a warrior in Mexico but two wins in his last 10 bouts will hardly be cause for Macho to get the old gladiator outfit out again.
Camacho hasn’t fought since last May when he scrapped a draw in a grim match with Luis Ramon Campas, who then proceeded to have the gall to beat Hector Jnr in his next match as son went on the ultimate family revenge mission, and lost. As a result Campas is never welcome for tea in the Camacho household.
To be fair Macho is fighting with a record of 79-5-3 and has still never been stopped, but he has been indulging in the finer things in life having now ballooned up to middleweight, a far cry from his lightweight prime. Gone is the raw speed that he used to destroy opponents in a blur, but he is as flamboyant as ever and will no doubt declare it “Macho time” repeatedly, even though it’s more like “Bed time” for the veteran these days.
He has still got that strange little bit of hair hanging down the front of his head as well, although I think these days he’s probably a bit more careful with it. Perhaps it holds Samson-like properties and when that recedes to nothing it will be time for Macho to call it a day.
Say what you like about Camacho but he was an excellent, charismatic fighter in his day and never ducked anyone. A lot of fighters would do well to take a leaf out of his book, he fought, Duran, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and was the only man ever to stop Sugar Ray Leonard. Granted it was hardly Leonard in his heyday but it’s still Leonard.
In fact Camacho is still up to his old tricks and has even called out Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao this week. Fair play to the guy, you know he would actually go into that fight and expect to win, there’s none of this drug-testing nonsense with Camacho - he will take on anyone.
Unfortunately for Camacho his heart maybe willing but his body is not. If he got in the ring with a big gun it might be time to get Age Concern to intervene.
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