Camacho, Hector - Champion Boxer And Prisoner
Hector "Macho" Camacho - World Champion
By the time Camacho was 15, he had been expelled from six schools for fighting, and had graduated from stealing toys to stealing cars. In 1979 a botched car theft attempt led Camacho on a 30-block police chase that ended when an officer cornered him and cracked his head with the butt of his pistol. Camacho got stitches, spent a day at Rikers Island, and was put on probation.
At a Glance . . .
After a stellar amateur career, Camacho began a quick rise through the professional rankings, first in the Featherweight and then in the Junior Lightweight division. He was so confident that he claimed he could beat World featherweight champions Salvador Sánchez and Eusebio Pedroza. However, Sanchez died when Camacho was still coming up in the ranks. In the Junior Lightweight division, he defeated top contenders Irleis Cubanito Perez, Melvin Paul, John Montes and Refugio Rojas (Both Montes and Rojas lasted one round, and Rojas would later last seven in a world title challenge of Julio César Chávez for Chavez's world Jr. Lightweight championship).
In recent developments:
Former boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho has turned himself in to Florida authorities in response to a felony count of child abuse, according to a report from the Associated Press. The state attorney's office filed a warrant for Camacho's arrest in November 2011. He posted $5,000 bond on Monday and was afterwards released. Camacho's attorney released a statement on Tuesday, saying a dispute took place at the home of Camacho's children and that a neighbor called the police because the dispute entailed "yelling outside of the home." According to a report from the Orlando Sentinel, the 49-year-old Camacho has been charged with child abuse because he, allegedly, picked his son up by the neck and slammed him to the ground, and then proceeded to stomp on him.The report claims the incident took place in late March 2011. There were varying statements about what exactly took place before the incident was forwarded to prosecutors.Camacho has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse in recent years, and he found himself sentenced to seven years in prison in 2007 on burglary charges. A judge would eventually suspend all but one year of the sentence, choosing to give Camacho probation instead.
Career: Boxer, 1980–2002
Awards: North American Boxing Federation, junior lightweight title, 1982; World Boxing Council (WBC), junior lightweight title, 1983; Super-feather weight title, ca. 1984; WBC, lightweight title, 1985; World Boxing Organization (WBO), junior welterweight title, 1989; National Boxing Association (NBA), super middleweight title, 2001.
By the time Camacho landed at Rikers Island, he had already won the New York Golden Glove championship. He would go on to win for three consecutive years. Camacho had begun boxing when he was ten years old. Restless and full of energy, Camacho found that boxing at the local boys' club gave him a much needed outlet for his aggression. His determination and exceptional quickness, along with his legendary cocky attitude, began to earn Camacho some amateur fights.