R.I.P. Hector "Macho" Camacho

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 04:54:00 PM EST
Tags: Hector "Macho" Camacho (all tags)

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Bump and Update: After suffering a cardiac arrest this morning, Hector "Macho" Comacho was removed from life support. His heart stopped shortly thereafter. His organs cannot be donated due to the length of time he was on life support after being declared brain dead.

A funeral will be held Tuesday in Santurce, PR. The family wanted to take him back to New York for a funeral and burial, but they said his financial condition didn't allow for it, unless he was cremated. Maybe one of the many media networks replaying his fights and career highlights, like ESPN Classic which is airing 7 hours of this fights today, will donate some of their advertising dollars for the trip to New York. [More...]

Original Post: Nov. 23

A good reminder of why people need advance healthcare directives: Without a living will or power of attorney designating health care decisions, the decision usually falls to family members and they may not agree.

The family of boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho held a press conference in Puerto Rico a few minutes ago. Hector's son is not ready to remove the boxer, who is brain dead, from life support, but Hector's parents disagree. (The conference was in Spanish, and I didn't understand the entire thing, but his son kept repeating "El vive" and people in attendance cheered.) Hector's mother says he will be removed from life support tomorrow, after all of his children have arrived and can say goodbye.

Hector, now 50, was shot while sitting in a car outside a liquor store Tuesday night. The driver of the vehicle, Adrian Mojica Moreno, was also shot, and died. Hector was taken to the Rio Piedras Medical Center in San Juan. Here's a photo of the scene. (The body in the photo is Moreno.) Police said two assailants fled in an SUV, no one has been arrested yet and witnesses are not saying much. No motive been established.

At least one report says the funeral will be in New York, where he grew up. Camacho had a record of 79-6-3 with 38 knockouts.

R.I.P. Hector "Macho" Camacho.

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R.I.P. Hector "Macho" Camacho | 14 comments (14 topical)

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drugs in the car (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by TeresaInPa on Fri Nov 23, 2012 at 08:33:30 PM EST

NBC news said there was a significant amount of coke or crack in the car. At this point it is only speculation as to whether that had anything to do with this crime. It is sad after all his hard work, that his life ends shot dead in front of a liquor store.

And (5.00 / 3) (#2)
by lentinel on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 07:08:09 AM EST

if cocaine were legal, as it once was, Hector would most likely not have been shot. That is assuming that coke was the motive. Another reason, imo, to end this horror story of a "war on drugs".

I must add that when NBC news says something, I receive their offerings with a healthy amount of skepticism. What, exactly, is a "significant" amount?

In this instance, it just feels like adding insult to injury.

I loathe the commercial media.


Two shots of Smirnoff Blue... (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Dadler on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 10:25:15 AM EST

...and you are ripped. 50% pure alcohol. And legal as sh*t. You are absolutely right, my friend. If the puritans hadn't loved to brew their beer, damn, I shudder to think where we'd be. Ahem.


According to NBC News, it was 9 grams. (none / 0) (#6)
by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 05:06:17 PM EST

That said, you're absolutely right about the "War on Drugs." It's proven to have been a monumental waste of precious public funding, which serves only to directly target the poor and indirectly empower criminal syndicates.

Decriminalize drug possession and treat abuse and addiction for the medical condition it is, and there'd have been little or no reason for anyone to site Camacho and his friend in their crosshairs.


unfortunately (none / 0) (#8)
by TeresaInPa on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 06:08:03 PM EST

hitting bottom is sometimes the only thing that turns an addict around and for many, jail time, having a record, being offered the chance to avoid a record, wanting to be on the right side of the law is the only thing that works. Rehab is often a joke. Addiction is more than just a medical condition. It is so much more complicated than that.


: ooops (none / 0) (#9)
by TeresaInPa on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 06:13:51 PM EST

did I say rehab is often a joke? I meant to say rehab is almost always a joke and a total waste of money.

: Hitting bottom (none / 0) (#12)
by lentinel on Sun Nov 25, 2012 at 07:33:19 AM EST

is often the only thing that turns people around in many situations. A troubled marriage for instance.
But that really has nothing to do with keeping cocaine illegal.
Rehab is only "a joke" because the underlying cause of the person's addition can rarely be addressed by these centers. Addiction is, as you say, complicated.
But it is up to the individual to come to terms with what bothers them.
Keeping cocaine illegal only fuels a violent underworld, kills the innocent, leads to police corruption and corruption among elected officials. There is simply too much money to be made, and power to be had, in keeping cocaine illegal.
There is another consideration: If cocaine were to be legalized, people who wanted to take it, to escape or just for fun, would have a way of knowing the quality and strength of what they were taking. As it is, "cocaine" is "cut" with all kinds of toxic crap.
So, legalization would, imo, protect both the user and the people who, like Hector, were just in the wrong place at the wrong time while guns were ablaze in a turf war.

If That's the Reason... (none / 0) (#16)
by ScottW714 on Mon Nov 26, 2012 at 10:34:55 AM EST

...one assumes it's because he needed money, and while agree about the legality, in this case he would have been doing something else illegal to make more money then the legal options.


RIP Hector (none / 0) (#3)
by rdandrea on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 09:14:23 AM EST

He was a great little fighter.

Blessed Be. The Wheel turns (none / 0) (#5)
by themomcat on Sat Nov 24, 2012 at 03:56:20 PM EST

How incredibly sad for his family, friends and fans. What is even sadder he was an organ donor but because he was kept on life support for so long, that will not happen.

May the Goddess guide him on his journey to the Summerlands. May his family, friends and the world find Peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does his estate get residuals... (none / 0) (#11)
by unitron on Sun Nov 25, 2012 at 12:58:11 AM EST

...from those ESPN re-airings?

Is ESPN smart enough to see a PR win when it's staring them right in the face?

(Public Relations, not place that may be the 51st state on of these days, or the new 50th if someone drops out)

It is (none / 0) (#13)
by lentinel on Sun Nov 25, 2012 at 07:37:22 AM EST

really a crime that a fighter can make so much money for so many people and come away with so little.

If ESPN doesn't offer to give money to Hector's estate, they should be called out for it and boycotted.


People make a lot of money (none / 0) (#14)
by CoralGables on Sun Nov 25, 2012 at 09:44:03 AM EST

and end up with very little all the time. Luck or skill or even brains don't necessarily translate to financial intelligence. Camacho obviously followed the "you can't take it with you" lifestyle. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.


: I (5.00 / 2) (#15)
by lentinel on Sun Nov 25, 2012 at 11:08:28 AM EST

have to think about what you wrote.
One thing though, is that the fact remains that Hector's estate doesn't appear to amount to much - and that the spectacle of a network using his demise as a means to make some fast money is unsavory.