Boxer Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho’s Flamboyance And Flair In The Ring Also Led Him Down Troubled Path Outside Of It

All eyes were on boxer Hector “Macho” Camacho whenever he took to the ring. The Puerto Rico native was talented and quick, his outfits were flashy and his presence was alluring and wild. But this wasn’t just his stage presence—Camacho’s wild energy stretched beyond the ring and into his personal life, repeatedly landing him in trouble with the law, and eventually led to his early death.

Showtime’s new documentary “Macho: The Hector Camacho Story” details the talented yet troubled star’s life, from his inspiring rise to fame until his tragic murder in 2012, when he was shot in the face while sitting in a parked car outside a bar in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. He died four days later, at the age of 50. His friend, 49-year-old Adrian Mojica Moreno, also died at the scene of the shooting, and investigators said they found nine small bags of cocaine in Moreno's pocket, according to an Associated Press report. Another open bag was allegedly found in the car. 

While the new documentary explores Camacho’s untimely death, it also focuses on his inability to break away from his wild lifestyle and cocaine addiction. His former wife Amy Torres explains in the documentary that Camacho made it clear to her that he didn’t want to leave his wild days behind.

“I like it, I love it,” Torres says he told her. “You met me like this, and I’m going to stay like this.”

“He was running away from love, he was running away from family, he was always running away—because, for him, everything was the streets,” Torres added.

Indeed, much of Camacho’s life was spent in the fast lane. His estranged manager Billy Giles told USA TODAY in the 1980s that Camacho was "drowning in drugs” and that he "never will make it back.”

The pugilist was arrested in 1988 on cocaine and assault charges after he allegedly pulled a gun on a juvenile in Florida, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The same year he was pulled over by a Florida trooper for apparently having sex with a woman while he was driving, according to USA Today.

Camacho was again arrested in 1992 in Miami on charges of battery on a police officer, possession of marijuana and disorderly intoxication. Then in 1995, he was charged with aggravated assault and domestic violence for allegedly pushing Torres while she was pregnant, the Associated Press reported at the time. Neither she nor the unborn child was injured during the incident. Torres did not want to press charges, but the authorities made the decision to take legal action. Camacho was already on probation at the time. 

By 1998, Torres obtained a restraining order against the boxer, claiming that he had threatened her and one of their children, according to the Associated Press.

The star fighter’s legal woes only escalated over time. In 2004, he burglarized a Gulfport, Mississippi computer store, causing nearly $13,000 in damage. Camacho claimed that while “crazy” on tequila he’d crawled through the ceiling of the store to retrieve his laptop, which was being worked on by the business, the Associated Press reported. He then fell through the ceiling and absconded with seven laptops and $1,000. He was arrested in a Biloxi, Mississippi casino hotel room for that incident, where authorities say they found 10 pills of ecstasy, the Associated Press reported. Camacho took a plea deal in 2007 and was sentenced to seven years. However, a judge reduced the sentence to one year.

In 2011, Camacho was arrested for allegedly assaulting one of his four children, according to the New York Post. It was that year that he moved back to Puerto Rico, where his troubles continued. Before his murder in 2012, Camacho was involved in a shootout during a carjacking, KROCK 101.7 reported in 2012. He was not hurt in the incident, according to ABC News.

Camacho’s murder has never been solved.