On March 6, 1989, he faced former Lightweight Champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini who was making a comeback to the ring.
Camacho became somewhat inactive over the next 2 ½ years, with only three fights, but all were wins. Hector was never the same fighter after this fight in the ring.Ĭamacho went on to defend his WBC Lightweight Title one time three months later with a 12 round decision over former champion Cornelius Boza-Edwards. The third judge had it 114-113 for Rosario and scored the fifth and the eleventh rounds 10-8 for the challenger. When the scorecards were announced, two judges had it 115-113 for Camacho. Many ringside observers thought Camacho had lost for the first time in a fight where he was cut over his left eye which required three stitches that also went along with a swollen nose and two black eyes. In the 12th and final round, Rosario easily won the round and put the fate of the match in the hands of the three judges at ringside. Camacho survived as he did in the fifth, but at this point, he had nothing left in the tank. Starting in the sixth, Camacho got back to his game plan and won the next five rounds with his boxing ability and a piston-like jab, which, in his prime, was a weapon that confused many an opponent he faced.īut just as Camacho was pulling out the victory, he got caught by another huge hook from Rosario in the eleventh round. Camacho was badly hurt when Rosario caught Camacho pulling back from a right hand and whacked him with a left hook.Īs the fans stood for the action in the ring, Camacho showed great heart and survived the fifth round. In the fifth round, the tide would change and Rosario was riding a surfboard right into the storm which was Camacho. On this night, the nickname “Macho” was truly put to the test, and Camacho earned every dime of his $500,000 paycheck.ĭuring the first two rounds, the fighters split them, winning two each. On paper, this fight had the makings of a “Super Fight.” By the attendance that evening at Madison Square Garden in New York, it lived up to the hype. Rosario had a record of 28-1 with 24 knockouts. Going into this fight, Camacho was at the top of his game with a perfect record of 29-0 with 16 knockouts. Camacho won by a 12 round unanimous decision, and Rosario was stopped in four by Ramirez.
Rosario lost the title that Camacho held to Jose Luis Ramirez, who Camacho beat to win it ten months earlier. Camacho was defending against fellow Puerto Rican, and former WBC Lightweight Champion Edwin “Chapo” Rosario. That 24 year old champion was none other than Hector “Macho” Camacho. In the boxing world, the equivalent to a modern day “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya was defending his World Boxing Council Lightweight Championship (WBC) title for the first time. Nintendo video games are introduced in the United States and sales sky rocket. Oprah Winfrey’s show hits the airwaves on national television. Barry Diller, head of News Corp., creates Fox, the fourth television network.
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