Hector Camacho

[billeau2]

- -Camacho the most naturally gifted of hand and foot I've ever seen until he got into the nose candy. You can take the kid outta the hood, but taking the punk outta him has always been problematic.

This is actually not entitely hyperbole. I would put him on a very short list of freakish good genetics/speed hand and foot ... Tunney, Robinson, Leonard, Jones, Ali and I know I am missing a few... The drugs really did a number on him, no question about it. Good post!

Edit. Apologies to Queenie: I misread the post. To say Camacho was one of the most naturally gifted one had seen, is in fact, not hyperbole at all. also combining posts. Incredible fighter. Very talented. More than just fast hands and natural ability. Camacho, like quite a few Nueva Rican fighters (New York, Puerto Rico) had a life that interferred with his boxing. He loved to party! when he was coming up guys partied very hard lol.

[ShoulderRoll]

The drug culture has caused untold harm and suffering, and ruined the potential of so many talented people.

It's a crime against humanity in my opinion.

[OctoberRed]

- -Camacho the most naturally gifted of hand and foot I've ever seen until he got into the nose candy. You can take the kid outta the hood, but taking the punk outta him has always been problematic.

Agreed, he has so much raw talent until drugs became involved.

[billeau2]

The drug culture has caused untold harm and suffering, and ruined the potential of so many talented people.

It's a crime against humanity in my opinion.

Benitez also... Same background, same problem... Not the natural talent Camacho was but also very talented.

[Willie Pep 229]

Don't blame the drugs, they were just the rash of a deeper failing. In a different time it would have been booze or something else. He never had the self-discipline necessary to make him a dominate decade-long ruling LW champion like Duran. He had the talent to be that guy, great natural skills, lighting hand speed, great movement, but he never grew into a "Duran" level fighter.

Make a list of wasted potential and I suspect he is high on that list.

[Ben Bolt]

The drug culture has caused untold harm and suffering, and ruined the potential of so many talented people.
It's a crime against humanity in my opinion.

I’m aware of that I’m writing this in the wrong forum, however …

I’ve followed up a lot of the boxers I fancied in the 70s-80s, and getting so fed up reading about how they got defeated by alzheimer here, dementia there, CTE … and so on, so on.

Some friends of mine have been heroin addicts, but were rehabilitated and are now back to a normal life.
Though, some of the guys I knew in the 80s, and who were quite successful boxers – and we’re talking amateur boxing – didn’t age well. Too many blows to the head.
Still, I follow the sport now and then. My brain has probably been damaged too, just by watching …

Luring young, healthy teens into boxing can be added to the list of crime against humanity.

[TonyGe]

I’m aware of that I’m writing this in the wrong forum, however …

I’ve followed up a lot of the boxers I fancied in the 70s-80s, and getting so fed up reading about how they got defeated by alzheimer here, dementia there, CTE … and so on, so on.

Some friends of mine have been heroin addicts, but were rehabilitated and are now back to a normal life.
Though, some of the guys I knew in the 80s, and who were quite successful boxers – and we’re talking amateur boxing – didn’t age well. Too many blows to the head.
Still, I follow the sport now and then. My brain has probably been damaged too, just by watching …

Luring young, healthy teens into boxing can be added to the list of crime against humanity.

Yeah.... There is a lot of speculation the the decline of Benitez was due to the violent sparring his father insisted he follow at a young age.

[BKM-]

88 fights and never got stopped. James Toney stands at 92. 180 fights for two fighters with no KO losses. Great chins and heart.

[Willie Pep 229]

88 fights and never got stopped. James Toney stands at 92. 180 fights for two fighters with no KO losses. Great chins and heart.

I am a big Hector fan being a fellow Miami guy, but I just got to say, he went the distance with Chavez and Trinidad because he stopped trying to win and just tried to finish. Did much shameful grabbing against Flex.

But you are correct a great heart and a tougher hombre then most thought of him at the time. He took from Rosario what Bramble couldn't/wouldn't.

[Ben Bolt]

Yeah.... There is a lot of speculation the the decline of Benitez was due to the violent sparring his father insisted he follow at a young age.

Famous is the sequence in a bout when he punched his son between rounds to get him going.
Came to think about Gerry Cooney, and the pressure he had from his dad, that he revealed in a HBO documentary.
Wilfred and Gerry were born fighters, not by their own will, but to fulfill the dreams of their fathers who had failed to accomplish those dreams.

Very few parents want to see their kid getting smashed to the head. Boxing is certainly a world of its own.