As his many fans are painfully aware, the great Hector Camacho met a violent and untimely end back in November of 2012. 50-year-old Camacho was shot in the jaw as he was sat in his car in his native Puerto Rico.
Camacho’s friend, Adrian Mojica Moreno, who was the driver of the car, was also hit and he died at the scene, with Camacho dying four days later.
It has taken far too long, but finally, those responsible for Camacho’s murder have been charged; those who are still living, anyway. As per reports from Puerto Rico, five men have been charged with the murder, with two other suspects in the case having died in 2013 and 2015.
Of the five men charged – William Rodriguez, Jesus Naranjo Adorno, Joshua Mendez Romero, and Luis Ayala Garcia – only Garcia was a free man before yesterday, the other four men already in prison on other charges.
All five men are now facing first-degree murder and conspiracy charges.
Camacho’s mother, Maria Matias, said she has “justice” and can now eat and sleep. It was Camacho’s mother who was forced with the unimaginably hard decision of whether or not to turn off her son’s life support machine in the hospital.
“They gave me justice,” she said. “I can sleep in peace. I can eat and drink a little cup of coffee in the morning.”
Camacho’s murder shocked millions and now, at last, those responsible will be made to pay. Camacho, 79-6-3(38) was a born showman in the ring; fast, clever, flashy and immensely skilled, the super-slick southpaw ruled the world at three different weights, 130, 135, and 140, and he faced, among others, Rafael “Bazooka” Limon, Jose Luis Ramirez, Edwin Rosario, Cornelius Boza-Edwards, Howard Davis Jr, Ray Mancini, Vinny Paz, Greg Haugen, Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad, and Oscar De La Hoya.
While living legends Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard, both at the end of their career at the time, fell to “Macho’s” magic.
Camacho is a Hall of Famer and though it will not bring him back, the fact that his callous murderers will now pay for what they did will at least come as some comfort for Camacho and his family, friends, and fans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IitUxkNOy3g
