Yori Boy Campas Returns to Fight Again
There are some fighters who continue to box even though they are likely past their prime. Roberto Duran fought well into his 40s, and only injuries sustained in a car accident kept him from fighting even later into his life. Hector Camacho is another example of a fighter who kept boxing well after his skills had left him. Roy Jones Jr. is a more recent example of a fighter who has continued to box well past his prime.
And then there is Yori Boy Campas. There was a time when Campas was considered to be one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the sport. Unfortunately for Campas (93-15-1, 74 KOs), that time was the late 1990s and it’s been a long time he’s been close to that level. Despite this fact, Campas continues to soldier on. The 38-year-old most recently defeated journeyman Taronze Washington (14-14, 7 KOs) in a six-round contest in Houston. His senior circuit tour continues on October 2 when he fights an eight-round bout against local fighter Jose Gonzales (13-8-1, 11 KOs) in Garden City, Kansas.
It’s a long way from fighting for world titles and headlining PPV cards to fighting at county fairground buildings in small Midwestern cities. But that’s where Campas is at this point in his career. Campas had won just one of his last seven bouts over a stretch of two and one-half years before his victory against Washington. Some of the losses came against decent fighters (like Amin Asikainen and Saul Roman) while others came against the likes of Marcos Reyes and Hector Camacho Jr. – hardly the elite fighters in the sport. (Ironically, Campas fought Camacho Jr.’s father to a draw during this streak.)
At a glance, 38 wouldn’t seem to be that old in today’s sport. Several top fighters are at that age or older and still fighting at a high level, including Shane Mosley, Vitali Klitschko, Bernard Hopkins and Nate Campbell. However, there have always been questions about Campas’ actual age and many people feel that you should add several years to his given age to determine exactly how old he really is.
In addition, Campas has been through a lot of tough battles during his 23-year career. In fact, he’s just plain been through a lot of fights in his career, logging 109 career bouts and 619 career rounds. Many of these bouts have been against elite opponents like Fernando Vargas, Felix Trinidad and Daniel Santos. Campas has been knocked out eight times in his career, and it’s hard to imagine the type of toll that having the type of career that Campas has had would put on a body.
So why does Campas continue to fight? There are several reasons why a boxer keeps fighting after its clear that he is past his prime to everyone else. It could be that he needs the money. Many fighters also simply cannot imagine a life without boxing and not being in the spotlight that being a boxer provides. For someone like Campas, who has been fighting since his teenage years, boxing is the only thing that he has known. Being asked to stop doing that and move on to a new phase in their life can be jarring for any fighter.
Perhaps Campas is delusional enough to think that he might still have one more big money fight left in his, or perhaps even a world title shot. However, for most people on the outside, it’s clear that fights against no-name boxers in school gyms and small town convention centres is hardly the way back to the top. At some point, the only person Campas is in danger of hurting is himself.
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