Former champion 'Macho' Camacho shot in Puerto Rico, reports say

[Ramplate]

Hector “Macho” Camacho, a former three-division champion, was shot and seriously injured in his native Puerto Rico on Tuesday, leaving the boxing showman fighting for his life, according to police and reports.

Reports from the scene said Camacho was in critical condition late Tuesday after being shot in the neck and face while seated in a Ford Mustang outside a bar in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Another man in the car was killed, according to Associated Press, and the motive was unknown.

Camacho, 50, had 88 pro bouts, going 79-6-3 against a who’s who of legendary opponents stretching from Ray Mancini (whom he defeated in 1989) to Oscar De La Hoya (who beat him by decision in 1997).

“My heart and prayers go out to him and his family,” De La Hoya said. “I really do hope he makes it out OK.”

Known for long, outlandish trunks sometimes decorated by tassles, Camacho also displayed theatrics in the ring while facing the likes of Freddie Roach, Cornelius Boza Edwards, Felix Trinidad, Roberto Duran and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

“When he was young, you couldn’t hit him, that’s why he won his first 50 fights,” veteran boxing publicist Bill Caplan said.

Yet, when Camacho suffered his first loss in a 1991 World Boxing Organization lightweight title bout against Greg Haugen at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, his true nature shined.

“You’d think the guy would be devastated, but 15 minutes after the loss, he was back in press row for the second fight of the HBO doubleheader, shaking everyone’s hands,” Caplan said. “Just a happy-go-lucky guy who loved people.”

Camacho’s toughness was unmistakable, however, especially on the 1992 evening when a sold-out Las Vegas fight crowd watched Chavez Sr. pummel him with body shots en route to a unanimous decision. Camacho refused to let his corner throw in the towel.

His love of the sport was evident both in his desire to entertain beyond fisticuffs, and instances like his 1995 fight in the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

There, promoter Don Chargin recalls main-event fighter Camacho showing up with his hands wrapped, in a robe and colorful trunks to sit alongside off-night fighters and managers in complementary seats to watch preliminary matches 90 minutes before his own bout against Tony Rodriguez.

“He just wanted to be with people,” Caplan said.

Chargin also relayed that after Camacho beat Roach – now Manny Pacquiao’s famed trainer – in a 1985 bout at Sacramento’s Arco Arena, Camacho told Chargin to hold his $50,000 purse because “I don’t need it now. When I do, I’ll call and ask you for it.”

One year later, Camacho phoned Chargin for the money.

“I’ve met fighters who were characters,” Caplan said. “He was one of a kind.”

[Ewok Droppings]

Apparently his mother is flying down to decide whether or not to take him off life support. Sad news indeed.

[Ramplate]

He was expected to survive last I'd heard

EDIT - OMG you're right

[Ramplate]

Puerto Rican boxing champ Camacho brain dead after shooting

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Former three-time world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho is brain dead following a drive-by shooting in Puerto Rico, a doctor said on Thursday.

Relatives are expected to decide on Thursday whether to remove Camacho, 50, from life support, said Dr. Ernesto Torres, director of the Rio Piedras Medical Center in Puerto Rico.

Camacho "is clinically brain dead," Torres told reporters. "We have done all we can do."

Camacho was shot in the neck and face late on Tuesday when he sat in a parked car in Bayamon, a San Juan suburb. The driver was killed, and police have no motive for the shooting.

Camacho was hit in the jaw by a bullet that fractured two vertebrae and lodged in his shoulder.

Torres said Camacho was in a deep coma and unresponsive. Brain studies taken overnight were negative and the results were taken to a neurologist for a final determination.

Camacho's mother, Maria Matias, and other relatives were going to be updated about the former boxer's condition, Torres said.

[Wyldstaar]

The police may not officially have a motive, but the numerous baggies of cocaine in the car certainly indicate the direction the investigation is likely to go. Another former professional athlete reduced to the role of hired muscle in the drug trade.

[Ramplate]

Yeah, he's certainly had his share of problems since rising to the top

[Primersdome]

That just nothing