Hector Camacho Jr. defended the family name on Friday night, scoring a ten-round split decision over grizzled former champion Yory Boy Campas in the main event of a pay-per-view telecast emanating from the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. Campas had fought Hector Camacho Sr. to a disputed draw this past May.
Camacho (50-3-1, 27 KOs) of Orlando, Florida came out relaxed, keeping Campas (92-15-1, 74 KOs) of Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico out of range with just his jab for much of the first round. Both fighters appeared a bit tentative in the opening round, perhaps feeling each other out. The fight then quickly turned ugly.
After several warnings and a blatant low blow in the third, Camacho was deducted a point. Another point was deducted from Camacho’s score at the end of the fourth for a glancing blow that came after the bell. Just before the late hit, Camacho had thrown Campas to the canvas. A minute into the fifth round, a headbutt, ruled accidental by referee Laurence Cole, cut Campas above his left eyebrow.
As the fight progressed, Camacho, 159 ½, did not show the overwhelming advantage in speed and reflexes you might think he should have over Campas, 152, a 38-year-old with a lot of miles on his tires. Still, time has eroded enough of Campas’ speed and power that he posed no real threat to the young Camacho.
Camacho cruised through much of the fight, doing just enough to keep Campas out of rhythm and win rounds. Another point deduction from Camacho in the tenth, this time for holding, made room for some intrigue at the end of the bout as the crowd awaited the decision. In the end, Camacho, who dropped his WBC CABOFE Light Middleweight title on the scales when he was one of numerous fighters that did not make their contracted weight at Friday’s weigh-in, took two cards 95-92 and 96-91. The third judge found a way to score the fight for Campas, 95-92.
“I got the win. I feel good. I had fun in there,” said Camacho soon after the decision was announced. “It was a rough fight, but that is what you have to do. You had a bull and I am a matador. Now we move on to the next chapter.” Talk quickly shifted from Campas to what the next chapter may be.
Prior to the bout, both promoter Zeferino Ramirez and Fernando Vargas confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached to match “El Feroz” against Camacho. “I want the fight,” proclaimed Camacho. “There are a lot of fights out there to be made. I give Vargas his credit. He was a great fighter in his time, but he needs to lose some weight. Lose some weight then talk to me.”
Vargas, who is now a promoter as well, entered the ring and played the part of huckster for the potential bout. “We are going to see this fight. I feel bad for him, but if he wants it, I am going to give it to him.” The fight would likely have to take place at 168-pounds or higher to accommodate Vargas. While Camacho has carried that weight into the ring before, he has never looked great doing so.
WBA #1/WBO #2 ranked super bantamweight Antonio Escalante (22-2, 14 KOs) of El Paso stayed in line for eventual title shot, scoring a second-round knockout over Carlos Fulgencio (11-4-1, 7 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. After a give-and-take first round, Escalante, 128, landed a chopping right high on the head of Fulgencio, 126 ½, sending the Dominican to the mat. After getting to one knee, Fulgencio stumbled back to the seat of his shorts, which prompted the referee to stop the bout. Official time of the stoppage was 1:17 of round two. After the bout, Escalante said he would prefer to campaign at the 126-pound featherweight division, but would not turn down a title shot at 122-pounds if one were offered.
In a pairing of vastly differing styles, classy boxer Abel Perry (12-3, 4 KOs) of Colorado Springs, Colorado utilized his boxing skills to score a fifth-round knockout over the unrefined technique of Bobby Joe Valdez (9-7-2, 4 KOs) of El Paso. Perry, 149, landed a stiff right that wobbled Valdez, 151, early in the second round, but did not press for a knockdown. Perry’s passiveness carried into the third round, as he allowed the clumsy Valdez out hustle him for the three minutes. Perry regained control of the fight in the fourth, as he sat down on his right hand, staggering Valdez midway through the stanza. Just after the start of the fifth, Perry rocked Valdez with a sweeping left hook and followed up with two more blows before referee Rafael Ramos stepped in the stop the contest. Official time of the stoppage was 0:32 of the fifth round.
In the opening bout of the telecast, David Medina (21-2, 10 KOs) of Junction City, Kansas scored an eight-round unanimous decision over the lumbering Miguel Hernandez (20-10, 10 KOs) of Chicago, Illinois. Medina, 167, simply outworked Hernandez, 174 ½, over the course of the eight rounds, cruising to the decision win. Medina kept a fairly busy pace throughout, keeping Hernandez, who came in 4 ½ pounds overweight, on the defensive. Hernandez had his best round in the sixth, as he worked over an apparently winded Medina in the corner. Medina closed out the fight strong en route to the win by the scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74.
Photo by Emily Harney/Zeferino Entertainment
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.