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As the younger brother of
legendary Hector “Macho”
Camacho, it was always unlikely
that former WBF World Super
Bantamweight Champion Felix
“Showtime” Camacho would
accomplish as much as his famous
sibling. But Felix did have
talent, and he had a career that
most would be proud of.
Born on June 27, 1966 in
Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Felix was
clearly inspired to take up
boxing by watching Hector, who
was four years older than him
and had won WBC and WBO world
championships at Lightweight,
while going 31-0, by the time
Felix was ready to follow him
into the professional ranks in
1988.
Since he grew up in Harlem, New
York, it was only fitting that
Felix would make his pro debut
in the United States, so that’s
what he did on June 25, 1988 at
the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in
Atlantic City, scoring a
unanimous decision over Dan
Fiello (1-3-1) on the undercard
of his brothers victory over
Reyes Antonio Cruz.
Four months later he returned
for his second paid bout, this
time in his birth-country,
beating Jaime Castellano (1-7)
clearly on points over four
rounds in Bayamon. But his next
twelve fights would take place
in the USA, including a tough
split decision victory over
Journeyman Darryl Pinckney
(4-10-2) to win the Florida
State title in June of 1990.
While it was only natural that
Felix would often fight in the
shadow of Hector, on the “Macho
Man´s” undercards, he had now
developed into a main event
fighter himself. But could he
also bring another world
championship to the Camacho
family?
A Southpaw like his brother,
many believed he had the talent
to do so, but just as many felt
that lack of discipline was his
greatest adversary. He had
already lost two fights against
opponents he was expected to
handle, Sammy Ruiz (7-11-4) and
Jose Badillo (7-0), albeit by
very close margins, so the
critics had a valid point.
On May 27, 1992, headlining a
card in San Juan, only twenty
kilometers from Bayamon, Felix
got his chance to prove the
nay-sayers wrong when he was
matched against Mexico´s Alberto
Cepeda (12-3) in a fight for the
vacant WBF World Super
Bantamweight crown.
And the twenty-five year-old
didn’t disappoint the many fans
and friends, and of course
members of his family, who had
showed up to support him on the
night. Felix dominated Cepeda
from early on, and won the WBF
world title by ninth round
knock-out. It would turn out to
be the absolute highlight of his
career!
Now holding a 15-2 (6) record,
and a world championship, the
world was Felix Camacho´s
oyster. So he was expected to
build on his resume when he took
on former WBO world titlist
Orlando Fernandez
(13-5) in a non-title fight the
following September.
Fernandez, who had lost his WBO
belt to Jesse Benavidez the
previous year, still had a lot
of gas left in his tank and
appeared to be the hungrier
fighter. After ten rounds of
boxing, he was declared the
winner by scores of 96-95, 97-94
and 97-93.
A rematch was quickly arranged,
this time with Camacho´s world
title on the line, and so they
clashed again only three months
later, on December 9, 1992 in
San Juan. But even if Camacho
took the challenge more serious
the second time around,
Fernandez still had too much for
him and won the WBF title by
unanimous decision (116-112,
117-112, 117-112).
Perhaps disappointed with
himself, Camacho took all of
1993 off and only returned to
the ring in January of 1994. Two
routine victories over Shawn
Wilkins (7-5-2) and Tommy Barnes
(8-11-1) put him in line for a
crack at IBF World Super
Bantamweight champion Vuyani
Bungu (24-2) in South Africa on
November 19, 1994.
Camacho acquitted himself quite
well against Bungu, but never
appeared to be close to victory
and lost the fight by wide
decision. With rumors of drug
and alcohol abuse, it was no
great surprise that he drifted
away from boxing soon after the
fight in Hammanskraal.
Almost four years later, In
August 1998, he made a comeback
in Miami, beating Elias Juarez
(10-9-4) on points in a
four-rounder. Back in his
brothers shadow, Felix saw
Hector defeat Tony Menefee in
the main even of the show at the
Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort.
But it would be almost two years
before he fought again, stopping
Percy Bailey (7-6-1) in one
round. Eight months after that,
continuing to tag along with
Hector, he beat Elias Juarez
(now 10-16-4) one more time, by
decision over eight rounds.
That would be his last outing in
over nine years. He had one more
fight, in September 2010 at
forty-four years of age, losing
on points to up-start Adrian
Perez (5-2-1) in Fort Myers,
Florida. In between his last two
ring-appearances, he spend five
years in prison, convicted on
twelve burglary and grand theft
charges.
Not long after that ill-fated
last comeback, Camacho was again
in trouble, and soon found
himself back behind bars with a
sentence of fifteen years for
burglary and theft. His lawyers
claim that head-trauma from his
boxing career, pugilistic
dementia, is one of the main
reasons he has been unable to
stay on the right side of the
law.
His final record stands at 20-6
(7).
The Camacho brothers both did
well in the ring. Hector, 79-6-3
(38), obviously better than
Felix. Outside the ring, they
both have very sad stories that
include substance abuse and
criminal behavior.
The combination of drugs and
taking too many blows to the
head probably did contribute to
the current situation of Felix.
If possible, and depending on
how you look at it, Hector´s
fate is even sadder, as he was
killed in a Bayamon shooting in
2012.
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